If the material is diamond hard, won’t the force automatically be spread across the material?
In order for force to transfer there needs to be some deformation of the suit. Right?
“If the material is diamond hard, won’t the force automatically be spread across the material?”
No, hardness is a measure of how resistant the material is to being scratched or indented. Toughness is a measure of how well a material absorbs a shock or impact. Materials with a high hardness can tend to be brittle and not very good at absorbing an impact.
Graphene (in a single sheet at least) seems to be very hard, but brittle. I am guessing that adding the second layer solves the problem of it being brittle, but that doesn’t mean it necessary would be better at absorbing the shock.