When it comes to the most durable metal in the world, for sure, many people imagine a formidable warrior in armor and with a sword made of Damascus steel. However, steel is far from the most strong metal in the world, since it is obtained by means of an alloy of iron with carbon and other additives. The hardest of the pure metals is considered titanium!
There are two different versions about the origin of the name of this metal. Some say that the silver-colored substance began to be called that in honor of the fairy queen Titania(from Germanic mythology). Indeed, in addition to being a very durable metal, it is also amazingly light. Others are inclined to believe that the metal got its name thanks to the Titans - strong and powerful children of the Earth goddess Gaia. Be that as it may, both versions look quite beautiful and poetic, and have the right to exist.
Titanium was discovered by two scientists at once: the German M.G. Klaptor and the Englishman W. Gregor. Such a discovery, with a difference of six years, was made at the end of the 18th century, after which the substance was immediately added to the periodic table. There it took the 22nd serial number.
True, because of its fragility, the metal was not used for a long time. Only in 1925, having gone through a series of experiments, chemists managed to obtain pure titanium, which became a real breakthrough in the history of mankind. The metal turned out to be very manufacturable with low density, high specific strength and corrosion resistance, as well as high strength at high temperatures.
In terms of mechanical strength, titanium and six times the strength of aluminum. That's why the list possible application titanium unlimited. It is used in medicine for osteoprosthetics, in the military industry (to create a submarine hull, armor in aviation and nuclear technology). Metal has also proven itself in sports and jewelry business, production mobile phones.
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By the way, in terms of distribution on earth, the strongest metal in the world occupies the tenth position. Its deposits are located in South Africa, China, Ukraine, Japan, India.
Although, judging by the latest discoveries in the field of chemistry, over time, titanium will have to give the title of super-metal to another representative. Not so long ago, scientists invented a substance stronger than metal. This is "liquid metal", or in translation - "liquid". The miracle substance has managed to establish itself as stainless and flawless for casting. And although humanity still needs to work hard to learn how to fully use the new metal, perhaps the future will belong to it.
- Very high toughness.
- Resistant to corrosion, oxidation even when heated to high temperatures.
- Resistant to concentrated acids and other aggressive compounds.
- 10 -11% is their content in the solid shell of the planet.
- The total amount of pure metal produced per year is within: 4 tons for iridium, 1 ton for osmium.
- The price of osmium is approximately equal to the price of gold.
A common opinion about hardness is diamond or damask steel / damascus steel. If the first mineral surpasses all the simple substances that exist on Earth, which nature has created, then the amazing properties of blades made of rare steel are due to the skill of blacksmiths, gunsmiths, additives from other metals. Many technical alloys used, for example, for the production of superhard cutters in the machine-building industry, the creation of a durable, reliable tool with unique properties, are associated with these additives in the usual symbiosis of iron with carbon, traditionally called steel for short - chromium, titanium, vanadium, molybdenum, nickel. When readers ask which is the most solid metal in the world, then in response to the pages of sites they are bombarded with a flurry of conflicting information. In this role, according to the authors of various articles, either tungsten or chromium, or iridium with osmium, or titanium with tantalum, appears.
In order to get through the jungle of not always correctly interpreted, albeit accurate facts, it is worth referring to the primary source - the system of elements contained both in the composition and in other space objects, left to mankind by the great Russian chemist and physicist D.I. Mendeleev. He possessed encyclopedic knowledge, made many scientific breakthroughs in knowledge about the structure, composition, interaction of substances, in addition to the famous table based on the fundamental periodic law discovered by him, named after him.
The planets closest to the Sun - Mercury, Venus, Mars, together with our planet, are classified as one - the terrestrial group. There are reasons for this not only among astronomers, physicists and mathematicians, but also among geologists and chemists. The reason for such conclusions for the latter is, among other things, that all of them mainly consist of silicates, i.e. various derivatives of the silicon element, as well as numerous metal compounds from the table of Dmitry Ivanovich.
In particular, our planet for the most part (up to 99%) consists of ten elements:
But a person, in addition to iron and alloys based on it, which is necessary for the survival and development, has always been much more attracted to precious, often respectfully called noble, metals - gold and silver, later - platinum.
With it, according to the scientific classification adopted by chemists, the platinum group includes ruthenium, rhodium, palladium and osmium with iridium. All of them also belong to noble metals. By atomic mass, they are still conditionally divided into two subgroups:
The last two are of particular interest for our pseudo-scientific investigation on the topic of who is the hardest here. This is due to the fact that a large, compared with other elements, atomic mass: 190.23 - for osmium, 192.22 - for iridium, according to the laws of physics, implies a huge specific gravity, and, consequently, the hardness of these metals.
If dense, heavy gold and lead are soft, ductile substances that are easy to process, then osmium and iridium, discovered at the beginning of the 19th century, turned out to be brittle. It must be remembered here that the measure of this physical property– diamond, which can be easily inscribed on any other hard material of natural or artificial origin, is also extremely fragile, i.e. it's pretty easy to break it down. Although, at first glance, it seems almost impossible.
In addition, osmium and palladium have many more interesting properties:
Therefore, along with platinum, including in the form of compounds with it, they are used in the production of catalysts for many chemical processes, high-precision instruments, equipment, tools in medical, scientific, military, space industries activities of mankind.
It is osmium and iridium, and scientists after research believe that this property is approximately equally given to them by nature, are the hardest metals in the world.
And everything would be fine, but not very much. The fact is that both their presence in the earth's crust and, accordingly, the world production of these very minerals are negligible:
It is clear that these rare-earth, expensive metals, despite their hardness, cannot even be used as a raw material for production to a limited extent; except perhaps as additives in alloys, compounds with other metals to impart unique properties.
Who is for them?
But man would not be himself if he had not found a replacement for iridium with osmium. Since it is impractical, too expensive to use them, then attention was not unsuccessfully turned to other metals that found their application in different situations, industries for the creation of new alloys, composite materials, the production of equipment, machines and mechanisms for both civilian and military use:
Although the hardest metal in the world, or rather, as many as two - iridium and osmium, showed their unique properties only in laboratory conditions, and also as additives in alloys that are negligible in terms of percentage, other compounds to create new materials necessary for man should be grateful to nature for this gift. At the same time, there is no doubt that the inquisitive minds of talented scientists and brilliant inventors will come up with new substances with unique properties, as has already happened with the synthesis of fullerenes, which turned out to be harder than diamond, which is already amazing.
The world around us is still fraught with many mysteries, but even phenomena and substances known to scientists for a long time do not cease to amaze and delight. We admire bright colors, enjoy tastes and use the properties of all kinds of substances that make our life more comfortable, safer and more enjoyable. In search of the most reliable and strong materials, man has made many exciting discoveries, and in front of you is a selection of just 25 such unique compounds!
25. Diamonds
If not everyone, then almost everyone knows this for sure. Diamonds are not only one of the most revered gemstones, but also one of the hardest minerals on Earth. On the Mohs scale (a scale of hardness in which an assessment is given by the reaction of a mineral to scratching), diamond is listed on the 10th line. There are 10 positions in the scale, and the 10th is the last and hardest degree. Diamonds are so hard that they can only be scratched with other diamonds.
24. Trapping webs of the spider species Caaerostris darwini
Photo: pixabay
It's hard to believe, but the network of the spider Caerostris darwini (or Darwin's spider) is stronger than steel and harder than Kevlar. This web was recognized as the hardest biological material in the world, although now it has a potential competitor, but the data has not yet been confirmed. Spider fiber was tested for characteristics such as breaking strain, impact strength, tensile strength and Young's modulus (the property of a material to resist stretching, compression during elastic deformation), and in all these indicators, the web showed itself in an amazing way. In addition, the trapping web of the Darwin spider is incredibly light. For example, if we wrap our planet with Caaerostris darwini fiber, the weight of such a long thread will be only 500 grams. Such long networks do not exist, but the theoretical calculations are simply amazing!
23. Aerographite
Photo: BrokenSphere
This synthetic foam is one of the lightest fibrous materials in the world and is a network of carbon tubes only a few microns in diameter. Aerographite is 75 times lighter than polystyrene, but at the same time much stronger and more ductile. It can be compressed down to 30 times its original size without any harm to its extremely elastic structure. Thanks to this property, airgraphite foam can withstand loads up to 40,000 times its own weight.
22. Palladium metallic glass
Photo: pixabay
A team of scientists from the California Institute of Technology and Berkeley Lab (California Institute of Technology, Berkeley Lab) has developed the new kind metal glass, combining an almost perfect combination of strength and ductility. The reason for the uniqueness of the new material lies in the fact that its chemical structure successfully masks the brittleness of existing glassy materials while maintaining a high endurance threshold, which ultimately significantly increases the fatigue strength of this synthetic structure.
21. Tungsten carbide
Photo: pixabay
Tungsten carbide is an incredibly hard material with high wear resistance. AT certain conditions this connection is considered very fragile, but under heavy load it shows unique plastic properties, manifesting itself in the form of slip bands. Thanks to all these qualities, tungsten carbide is used in the manufacture of armor-piercing tips and various equipment, including all kinds of cutters, abrasive discs, drills, cutters, drill bits and other cutting tools.
20. Silicon carbide
Photo: Tiia Monto
Silicon carbide is one of the main materials used to make battle tanks. This compound is known for its low cost, outstanding refractoriness, and high hardness, and is therefore often used in the manufacture of equipment or gear that must deflect bullets, cut, or grind other hard materials. Silicon carbide makes excellent abrasives, semiconductors, and even inserts in Jewelry imitating diamonds.
19. Cubic boron nitride
Photo: wikimedia commons
Cubic boron nitride is a superhard material that is similar in hardness to diamond, but has a number of distinctive advantages - high temperature stability and chemical resistance. Cubic boron nitride does not dissolve in iron and nickel even under the influence of high temperatures, while diamond under the same conditions enters into chemical reactions rather quickly. In fact, this is beneficial for its use in industrial grinding tools.
18. Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE), Dyneema fiber brand
Photo: Justsail
High modulus polyethylene has extremely high wear resistance, low coefficient of friction and high fracture toughness (low temperature reliability). Today it is considered the strongest fibrous substance in the world. The most amazing thing about this polyethylene is that it is lighter than water and can stop bullets at the same time! Cables and ropes made of Dyneema fibers do not sink in water, do not need lubrication and do not change their properties when wet, which is very important for shipbuilding.
17. Titanium alloys
Photo: Alchemist-hp (pse-mendelejew.de)
Titanium alloys are incredibly ductile and show amazing strength when stretched. In addition, they have high heat resistance and corrosion resistance, which makes them extremely useful in areas such as aircraft, rocketry, shipbuilding, chemical, food and transportation engineering.
16. Liquid metal alloy
Photo: pixabay
Developed in 2003 at the California Institute of Technology, this material is renowned for its strength and durability. The name of the compound is associated with something brittle and liquid, but at room temperature it is actually unusually hard, wear-resistant, not afraid of corrosion and transforms when heated, like thermoplastics. The main areas of application so far are the manufacture of watches, golf clubs and covers for mobile phones (Vertu, iPhone).
15. Nanocellulose
Photo: pixabay
Nanocellulose is isolated from wood fibers and is a new type of wood material that is even stronger than steel! In addition, nanocellulose is also cheaper. Innovation has big potential and in the future can seriously compete with glass and carbon fiber. The developers believe that this material will soon be in great demand in the production of army armor, super-flexible screens, filters, flexible batteries, absorbent aerogels and biofuels.
14. Teeth of snails of the "sea saucer" type
Photo: pixabay
Earlier, we already told you about the trapping web of Darwin's spider, which was once recognized as the most durable biological material on the planet. However, a recent study showed that the limpet is the most durable biological substance known to science. Yes, these teeth are stronger than the web of Caaerostris darwini. And this is not surprising, because tiny sea creatures they feed on algae growing on the surface of harsh rocks, and in order to separate food from the rock, these animals have to work hard. Scientists believe that in the future we will be able to use the example of the fibrous structure of the teeth of marine limpets in the engineering industry and begin to build cars, boats, and even aircraft increased strength, inspired by the example of simple snails.
13. Maraging steel
Photo: pixabay
Maraging steel is a high strength and high alloy alloy with excellent ductility and toughness. The material is widely used in rocket science and is used to make all kinds of tools.
12. Osmium
Photo: Periodictableru / www.periodictable.ru
Osmium is an incredibly dense element, and due to its hardness and high melting point, it is difficult to machine. That is why osmium is used where durability and strength are most valued. Osmium alloys are found in electrical contacts, rocketry, military projectiles, surgical implants, and many other applications.
11. Kevlar
Photo: wikimedia commons
Kevlar is a high tenacity fiber found in car tires, brake pads, cables, prosthetics, body armor, protective clothing fabrics, shipbuilding and drone parts. aircraft. The material has become almost synonymous with strength and is a type of plastic with incredibly high strength and elasticity. The tensile strength of Kevlar is 8 times higher than that of steel wire, and it begins to melt at a temperature of 450℃.
10. Ultra high molecular weight polyethylene of high density, brand of fibers "Spectra" (Spectra)
Photo: Tomas Castelazo, www.tomascastelazo.com / Wikimedia Commons
UHMWPE is essentially a very durable plastic. Spectra, the UHMWPE brand, is, in turn, a light fiber of the highest wear resistance, 10 times superior to steel in this indicator. Like Kevlar, spectrum is used in the manufacture of body armor and protective helmets. Along with UHMWPE, dainimo spectrum is popular in the shipbuilding and transport industries.
9. Graphene
Photo: pixabay
Graphene is an allotropic modification of carbon, and its crystal lattice, just one atom thick, is so strong that it is 200 times harder than steel. Graphene looks like cling film, but breaking it is an almost impossible task. To punch through a graphene sheet, you have to stick a pencil into it, on which you will have to balance a load with the weight of an entire school bus. Good luck!
8. Carbon nanotube paper
Photo: pixabay
Thanks to nanotechnology, scientists have managed to make paper that is 50,000 times thinner than a human hair. Sheets of carbon nanotubes are 10 times lighter than steel, but the most amazing thing is that they are as much as 500 times stronger! Macroscopic nanotube plates are the most promising for the manufacture of supercapacitor electrodes.
7. Metal microgrid
Photo: pixabay
Here is the lightest metal in the world! The metal microgrid is a synthetic porous material that is 100 times lighter than foam. But let him appearance Don't be fooled, these microgrids are also incredibly strong, making them great potential for use in all sorts of engineering applications. They can be used to make excellent shock absorbers and thermal insulators, and the amazing ability of this metal to shrink and return to its original state allows it to be used to store energy. Metal microgrids are also actively used in the production of various parts for the aircraft of the American company Boeing.
6. Carbon nanotubes
Photo: User Mstroeck / en.wikipedia
Above, we have already talked about ultra-strong macroscopic carbon nanotube plates. But what kind of material is this? In fact, these are graphene planes rolled into a tube (9th point). The result is an incredibly light, resilient and durable material for a wide range of applications.
5. Airbrush
Photo: wikimedia commons
Also known as graphene airgel, this material is extremely light and strong at the same time. The new type of gel has completely replaced the liquid phase with a gaseous one, and it is characterized by sensational hardness, heat resistance, low density and low thermal conductivity. Incredibly, graphene airgel is 7 times lighter than air! The unique compound is able to regain its original shape even after 90% compression and can absorb up to 900 times the weight of oil used to absorb airbrush. Perhaps in the future this class of materials will help in the fight against such environmental disasters like oil spills.
4. Material without a name, the development of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Photo: pixabay
As you read this, a team of scientists at MIT is working to improve the properties of graphene. The researchers said that they have already managed to convert the two-dimensional structure of this material into three-dimensional. The new graphene substance has not yet received its name, but it is already known that its density is 20 times less than that of steel, and its strength is 10 times higher than that of steel.
3. Carbin
Photo: Smokefoot
Even though it's just linear chains of carbon atoms, carbyne has 2x the tensile strength of graphene and is 3x harder than diamond!
2. Boron nitride wurtzite modification
Photo: pixabay
This newly discovered natural substance is formed during volcanic eruptions and is 18% harder than diamonds. However, it surpasses diamonds in a number of other parameters. Wurtzite boron nitride is one of only 2 natural substances found on Earth that is harder than diamond. The problem is that there are very few such nitrides in nature, and therefore they are not easy to study or apply in practice.
1. Lonsdaleite
Photo: pixabay
Also known as hexagonal diamond, lonsdaleite is made up of carbon atoms, but in this modification, the atoms are arranged slightly differently. Like wurtzite boron nitride, lonsdaleite is a natural substance that is harder than diamond. Moreover, this amazing mineral is harder than diamond by as much as 58%! Like wurtzite boron nitride, this compound is extremely rare. Sometimes lonsdaleite is formed during a collision with the Earth of meteorites, which include graphite.
Metal has been used by people since ancient times. The most accessible and workable metal in nature is copper. Copper products in the form of household utensils are found by archaeologists during excavations of ancient settlements. As technological progress grew, man learned to make alloys from various metals, which were useful to him in the manufacture of household items and weapons. And so the strongest metal in the world appeared.
Titanium
This extraordinarily beautiful silver-white metal was discovered almost simultaneously at the end of the 18th century by two scientists - the Englishman W. Gregory and the German M. Klaproth. According to one version, titanium got its name in honor of the characters of ancient Greek myths, the mighty Titans, according to another - from Titania, the fairy queen from Germanic mythology - because of its lightness. However, at that time they did not find a use for it.
Then in 1925, physicists in Holland were able to isolate pure titanium and discovered its many benefits. These are high rates of manufacturability, specific strength and resistance to corrosion, very high strength at high temperatures. It also has high anti-corrosion resistance. These fantastic figures immediately attracted engineers and designers.
In 1940, the scientist Krol obtained pure titanium using the magnesium-thermal method, and since then this method has been the main one. The strongest metal on earth is mined in many places in the world - Russia, Ukraine, China, South Africa and others.
Titanium is two times stronger than iron in terms of mechanical parameters, six times stronger than aluminum. Titanium alloys are this moment the most durable in the world, and therefore have found application in the military (design of submarines, missiles), shipbuilding and aviation industries (on supersonic aircraft).
This metal is also incredibly ductile, so any shape can be made from it - sheets, pipes, wire, tape. Titanium is widely used for the manufacture of medical prostheses (at the same time, it is biologically ideally compatible with the tissues of the human body), jewelry, sports equipment, etc.
It is also used in chemical production due to its anti-corrosion properties, this metal does not corrode in an aggressive environment. So, for testing purposes, a titanium plate was placed in sea water, and in 10 years it did not even rust!
Due to its high electrical resistance and non-magnetizing properties, it is widely used in radio electronics, for example, in structural parts of mobile phones. The use of titanium in the field of dentistry is very promising, its ability to fuse with human bone tissue is especially important, which gives strength and solidity during prosthetics. It is widely used in the manufacture of medical instruments.
Uranus
The natural oxidizing properties of uranium have been used since antiquity (1st century BC) in the manufacture of yellow glazes in pottery. One of the most well-known durable metals in the world practice, it is weakly radioactive and is used in the production of nuclear fuel. The 20th century was even called the “age of Uranus”. This metal has paramagnetic properties.
Uranium is 2.5 times heavier than iron, forms many chemical compounds, and its alloys with elements such as tin, lead, aluminum, mercury, and iron are used in production.
Tungsten
This is not only the strongest metal in the world, but also very rare, which is not even mined anywhere, but was obtained chemically back in 1781 in Sweden. The most temperature resistant metal in the world. Due to its high refractoriness, it lends itself well to forging, while it is pulled into a thin thread.
Its most famous use is as a tungsten filament in light bulbs. It is widely used for the production of special tools (incisors, cutters, surgical) and in jewelry production. Due to its property not to transmit radioactive rays, it is used to produce containers for storing nuclear waste. Tungsten deposits in Russia are located in Altai, Chukotka, and the North Caucasus.
Rhenium
It got its name in Germany (Rhine River), where it was discovered in 1925, the metal itself has a white color. It is mined both in its pure form (Kuril Islands), and in the extraction of molybdenum and copper raw materials, but in very small quantities.
The strongest metal on earth is very hard and dense, it melts perfectly. The strength is high and does not depend on temperature changes, the disadvantage is the high cost, poisonous to humans. Used in electronics and aviation industry.
Osmium
The heaviest element, for example, a kilogram of osmium looks like a ball that fits easily in the hand. It belongs to the platinum group of metals, at a price several times higher than gold. The name got its name because of the bad smell during a chemical reaction, which was carried out by the English scientist S. Tennant in 1803.
Outwardly, it looks very beautiful: shiny silver crystals with a blue and blue tint. It is usually used as an additive to other metals in industry (metal-ceramic cutters of increased strength, blades of medical knives). Its non-magnetic and durable properties are used in the manufacture of high-precision instruments.
Beryllium
It was obtained by the chemist Paul Lebo at the end of the 19th century. At first, this metal was nicknamed "sweet", because of its candy taste. Then it turned out that he has other attractive and original properties, for example, he does not want to enter into any chemical reactions with other elements with rare exceptions (halogen).
The strongest metal in the world is both hard, brittle, and light, and highly toxic at the same time. Its exceptional strength (for example, a wire with a diameter of 1 mm can withstand the weight of a person) is used in laser and space technology, and nuclear energy.
New discoveries
We can go on talking about very strong metals, but technical progress is moving forward. Scientists from California recently announced to the world the emergence of a "liquid metal" (from the word "liquid"), superior in strength to titanium. In addition, it turned out to be super-light, flexible and high-strength. Therefore, scientists have to create and develop ways to use a new metal, and in the future, perhaps, make many more discoveries.
metal glass
Specialists of the California Institute of Technology obtained a material unique in its properties - this is the most durable alloy today - "metal glass". The uniqueness of the new alloy is that metallic glass is made of metal, but has the internal structure of glass. Today, scientists are figuring out what exactly gives the alloy such unusual properties and how they can be introduced into alloys from less expensive materials.
The amorphous structure of glass, unlike the crystalline structure of metal, is not protected from the propagation of cracks, which explains the fragility of glass. Metallic glasses also have the same disadvantage, which are also quite easily destroyed, forming shear bands that develop into cracks.
Alloy Properties
The specialists of the Californian Institute noticed that the appearance of a large number of shear bands gives a high resistance to the development of cracks, due to which the opposite effect is achieved: the material bends without breaking. It is this material, the energy of which shear bands are much less than the energy required to turn them into cracks, that they have created. “By mixing five elements, we ensured that when cooled, the material “does not know” which structure to take, and chooses an amorphous one,” explained R. Ritchie, a participant in the study.
metallic glass
The most durable alloy - metallic glass - consists of noble palladium, silicon, phosphorus, germanium with a small addition of silver (formula: Pd79Ag3.5P6Si9.5Ge2).
The new alloy showed itself in tests as a combination of mutually exclusive properties - strength and endurance at a level not previously seen in any other material. As a result, the new metallic glass combines the hardness of glass with the crack resistance of metals. Moreover, the level of rigidity and strength is within reach.
Material use
For structural metal, the study has significantly pushed back the limits of load tolerance. But, according to scientists, the most durable alloy, due to the rarity and high cost of its main component - palladium, may not be widely used. However, developers have reported possible uses of this material in medical implants (for example, for intramaxillary prostheses), as well as parts in the automotive or aerospace industry.