Name three different allotropes of carbon and describe their physical properties

Diamond, graphite, and buckminsterfullerene's

Diamond is one of the best known allotropes of carbon, whose hardness and high dispersion of light make it useful for industrial applications and jewelry. Diamond is the hardest known natural mineral, which makes it an excellent abrasive and makes it hold polish and luster extremely well. No known naturally occurring substance can scratch, let alone cut, a diamond.

The buckminsterfullerene's, or usually just fullerenes for short, were discovered in 1985 by a team of scientists from Rice University and the University of Sussex, three of whom were awarded the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. They are named for the resemblance of their allotropic structure to the geodesic structures devised by the scientist and architect Richard Buckminster "Bucky" Fuller. Fullerenes are molecules of varying sizes composed entirely of carbon, which take the form of a hollow sphere, ellipsoid, or tube.

Graphite is one of the most common allotropes of carbon. Unlike diamond, graphite is an electrical conductor, and can be used, for instance, as the material in the electrodes of an electrical arc lamp. Graphite holds the distinction of being the most stable form of carbon under standard conditions. Therefore, it is used in thermochemistry as the standard state for defining the heat of formation of carbon compounds.