How to Soften a Diamond (IMAGE) Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft Caption Material removal mechanism during diamond polishing: a sharp-edged diamond particle (gray atoms in the upper left) »peels off« a dust particle from the glass-like phase (green atoms) at the surface of the diamond (gray atoms in the lower part of the figure). At the same time, oxygen from the air (red atoms) reacts with the carbon chains (brown atoms) at the surface to form carbon dioxide. Credit Fraunhofer IWM Usage Restrictions The picture may be used for editorial purposes only. It is protected by copyright. The use is free of charge if the reference is mentioned. License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.