The hardest metal - what is it? What is the hardest metal on earth.
- Very high refractoriness.
- Resistant to corrosion and 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 the following limits: 4 tons for iridium, 1 t for osmium.
- The price of osmium is approximately equal to the price of gold.
A common belief about hardness is diamond or damask steel/damascus steel. If the first mineral is superior to all simple substances existing on Earth that nature has created, then the amazing properties of blades made of rare steel are due to the skill of swordsmiths and additives from other metals. Many technical alloys, used, for example, for the production of super-hard cutters in the engineering industry, creating durable, reliable tools with unique properties, are associated with these additives in the usual symbiosis of iron and carbon, in short, traditionally called steel - chromium, titanium, vanadium, molybdenum, nickel. When readers ask what the hardest metal in the world is, they are bombarded with a barrage of conflicting information on the pages of websites. In this role, according to the authors of various articles, either tungsten or chromium, or iridium with osmium, or titanium with tantalum.
In order to get through the jungle of not always correctly interpreted, albeit accurate facts, it is worth turning to the original source - the system of elements contained both in the composition and in other cosmic objects, left to humanity by the great Russian chemist and physicist D.I. Mendeleev. He had encyclopedic knowledge, made many scientific breakthroughs in knowledge about the structure, composition, and interaction of substances, in addition to the famous table based on the fundamental periodic law he discovered, 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 among the latter is, among other things, the fact that they all mainly consist of silicates, i.e. various derivatives of the element silicon, as well as numerous metal compounds from Dmitry Ivanovich’s table.
In particular, our planet mostly (up to 99%) consists of ten elements:
But man, in addition to the iron and alloys based on it necessary for survival and development, has always been much more attracted to precious metals, often respectfully called noble metals - gold and silver, and later platinum.
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. Based on their atomic mass, they are conventionally 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 the large atomic mass compared to other elements: 190.23 for osmium, 192.22 for iridium, according to the laws of physics, also implies a huge specific density, and, consequently, the hardness of these metals.
If dense, heavy gold and lead are soft, plastic substances that are easy to process, then osmium and iridium, discovered at the beginning of the 19th century, turned out to be fragile. Here it is necessary to remember that the measure of this physical property is that a diamond, which can be used to inscribe on any other hard material of natural or artificial origin without much effort, is also extremely fragile, i.e. It's fairly easy to break. Although, at first glance, this 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 devices, equipment, tools in the medical, scientific, military, and space sectors of human activity.
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 good. The fact is that both their presence in the earth’s crust and, accordingly, the global production of these very minerals are negligible:
It is clear that these rare earth, expensive metals, despite their hardness, cannot even be used to a limited extent as raw materials for production; perhaps as additives to alloys, compounds with other metals to impart unique properties.
Who is for them?
But a person would not be himself if he had not found a replacement for iridium with osmium. Since it is inappropriate and too expensive to use them, then attention was not without success turned to other metals that have found their application in different situations and industries for the creation of new alloys, composite materials, production of equipment, machines and mechanisms for both civil and military use:
Although the hardest metal in the world, or rather two of them - iridium and osmium, have shown their unique properties only in laboratory conditions, and also as negligible percentage additives to alloys, other compounds for creating new materials necessary for humans should be grateful to nature and 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 surprising.
There are many metals in the world that are identical in terms of hardness, but not all of them are widely used in industry. There may be several reasons for this: rarity and therefore high cost, or radioactivity, which prevents use for human needs. Among the hardest metals, there are 6 leaders that have conquered the world with their features.
The hardness of metals is usually measured using the Mohs scale. The hardness measurement method is based on assessing the scratch resistance of other metals. Thus, it was determined that uranium and tungsten have the highest hardness. However, there are metals that are more used in different areas of life, although their hardness is not the highest on the Mohs scale. Therefore, when discussing the topic of the hardest metals, it would be wrong not to mention the well-known titanium, chromium, osmium and iridium.
When asked what the hardest metal is, any person studying chemistry and physics at school will answer: “Titanium.” Of course, there are alloys and even pure nuggets that surpass it in strength. But among those used in everyday life and production, titanium has no equal.
Pure titanium was first obtained in 1925 and was then declared the hardest metal on Earth. It immediately began to be actively used in completely different areas of production - from rocket parts and air transport to dental implants. The popularity of the metal is due to several of its main properties: high mechanical strength, resistance to corrosion and high temperatures, and low density. On the Mohs scale of metal hardness, titanium has a degree of 4.5, which is not the highest level. However, its popularity and use in various industries makes it first in hardness among the commonly used ones.
Titanium is the hardest metal commonly used in manufacturing.
More details about the use of titanium in industry. This metal has a wide range of uses:
- Aviation industry - aircraft airframe parts, gas turbines, skins, power elements, landing gear parts, rivets, etc.;
- Space technology – casings, parts;
- Shipbuilding - ship hulls, parts of pumps and pipelines, navigation instruments, turbine engines, steam boilers;
- Mechanical engineering – turbine condensers, pipes, wear-resistant elements;
- Oil and gas industry – drilling pipes, pumps, high pressure vessels;
- Automotive industry - in the mechanisms of valves and exhaust systems, transmission shafts, bolts, springs;
- Construction – external and internal cladding of buildings, roofing materials, light fastening devices and even monuments;
- Medicine – surgical instruments, prostheses, implants, housings for cardiac devices;
- Sports – sports equipment, travel accessories, bicycle parts.
- Consumer goods - jewelry, decorative items, garden tools, wristwatches, kitchen utensils, electronics cases and even bells - are also added to paints, whitewash, plastics and paper.
You can see that titanium is in demand in completely different areas of industry due to its physical and chemical properties. Although it is not the hardest metal in the world on the Mohs scale, products made from it are much stronger and lighter than steel, wear less and are more resistant to irritants.
Titanium is considered the hardest among actively consumed metals
The hardest metal in its natural form is considered to be a bluish-white color - chromium. It was discovered at the end of the 18th century and has been widely used in production since then. On the Mohs scale, the hardness of chromium is 5. And for good reason - it can cut glass, and when combined with iron, it can even cut metal. Chromium is also actively used in metallurgy - it is added to steel to improve its physical properties. The range of uses of chromium is very diverse. Firearms barrels, medical and chemical technological equipment, household items - kitchen utensils, metal parts of furniture and even submarine hulls are made from it.
The highest hardness in its pure form - chromium
Chromium is used in various fields, for example, for the production of stainless steel, or for coating surfaces - chrome plating (equipment, cars, parts, dishes). This metal is often used in the manufacture of firearm barrels. This metal can also often be found in the production of dyes and pigments. Another area of its use may seem surprising - the production of dietary supplements, and in the creation of technological equipment for chemical and medical laboratories, chromium cannot be avoided.
Osmium and iridium are representatives of the platinum group metals and have almost the same density. In their pure form they are incredibly rare in nature, and most often they are alloyed with each other. Iridium by its nature has high hardness, which is why it is difficult to work with metal, both mechanical and chemical.
Osmium and iridium have the highest density
Iridium began to be actively used in industry relatively recently. Previously, it was used with caution, since its physicochemical characteristics were not fully understood. Iridium is now even used in jewelry (as inlays or alloyed with platinum), surgical instruments, and parts for cardiac stimulators. In medicine, the metal is simply irreplaceable: its biological products can help fight cancer, and irradiation with a radioactive isotope can stop the growth of cancer cells.
Two-thirds of the iridium mined in the world goes into the chemical industry, and the rest is distributed among other industries - sputtering in the metallurgical industry, consumer goods (elements of fountain pens, jewelry), medicine in the production of electrodes, elements of pacemakers and surgical instruments, as well as for improving the physical, chemical and mechanical properties of metals.
The hardness of iridium on the Moss scale is 5
Osmium is a silvery-white metal with a bluish tint. It was discovered a year later than iridium, and now it is often found in iron meteorites. In addition to its high hardness, osmium is distinguished by its high cost - 1 gram of pure metal is estimated at 10 thousand dollars. Another feature of it is its weight - 1 liter of molten osmium is equal to 10 liters of water. However, scientists have not yet found a use for this property.
Because of its rarity and high cost, osmium is used only where no other metal can be used. It has never been widely used, and there is no point in searching until supplies of the metal become regular. Osmium is now used to make instruments that require high precision. Products made from it hardly wear out and have significant strength.
Osmium hardness index reaches 5.5
One of the most famous elements, which is one of the hardest metals in the world, is uranium. It is a light gray metal with weak radioactivity. Uranium is considered one of the heaviest metals - its specific gravity is 19 times that of water. It also has relative ductility, malleability and flexibility, and paramagnetic properties. On the Moss scale, the hardness of the metal is 6, which is considered very high.
Previously, uranium was almost never used, but was found only as ore waste during the extraction of other metals - radium and vanadium. Today, uranium is mined in deposits, the main sources being the US Rocky Mountains, the Republic of Congo, Canada and the Union of South Africa.
Despite its radioactivity, uranium is actively consumed by humanity. It is most in demand in nuclear energy - it is used as fuel for nuclear reactors. Uranium is also used in the chemical industry and in geology to determine the age of rocks.
Military engineering also did not miss the incredible specific gravity indicators. Uranium is regularly used to create the cores of armor-piercing projectiles, which, due to their high strength, do an excellent job of the task.
Uranium is the hardest metal, but it is radioactive
Topping off our list of the hardest metals on Earth is the brilliant silver-gray tungsten. On the Mohs scale, tungsten has a hardness of 6, like uranium, but, unlike the latter, it is not radioactive. Its natural hardness, however, does not deprive it of its flexibility, which is why tungsten is ideal for forging various metal products, and its resistance to high temperatures allows it to be used in lighting devices and electronics. Tungsten consumption does not reach high levels, and the main reason for this is its limited amount in deposits.
Due to its high density, tungsten is widely used in the weapons industry for the production of heavyweights and artillery shells. In general, tungsten is actively used in military engineering - bullets, counterweights, ballistic missiles. The next most popular use of this metal is aviation. Engines and parts of electric vacuum devices are made from it. Tungsten cutting tools are used in construction. It is also an indispensable element in the production of varnishes and light-resistant paints, fire-resistant and waterproof fabrics.
Tungsten is considered the most refractory and durable
Having studied the properties and areas of consumption of each metal, it is difficult to say unambiguously which is the hardest metal in the world, if we take into account not only the Mohs scale indicators. Each of the representatives has a number of advantages. For example, titanium, which does not have ultra-high hardness, has firmly taken first place among the most used metals. But uranium, the hardness of which reaches the highest level among metals, is not so popular due to its weak radioactivity. But tungsten, which does not emit radiation and has the highest strength and very good flexibility, cannot be actively used due to limited resources.
Glass made of metal
Specialists from the California Institute of Technology have obtained a material that is unique in its properties - this is the strongest alloy to date - “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 made 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. Metal glasses also have the same disadvantage, which also break quite easily, forming shear bands that develop into cracks.
Alloy properties
Specialists from the Californian Institute noticed that the appearance of a large number of shear bands provides high resistance to the development of cracks, due to which the opposite effect is achieved: the material bends without collapsing. It is precisely this material, the energy of producing shear bands that is much less than the energy required to turn them into cracks, that they created. “By mixing five elements, we ensured that when cooled, the material “does not know” which structure to adopt and chooses an amorphous one,” explained study participant R. Ritchie.
Metal glass
The most durable alloy - metal 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.
Use of material
For structural metal, the research carried out has significantly pushed back the limits of load tolerance. But, according to scientists’ forecasts, the most durable alloy may not be widely used, due to the rarity and high cost of its main component, palladium. However, developers have reported possible use of this material in medical implants (for example, for intramaxillary prostheses), as well as parts in the automotive or aerospace industries.
Titan was discovered at the end of the 18th century by independent scientists from England and Germany. In the periodic table of elements D.I. Mendeleev was located in group 4 with atomic number 22. For quite a long time, scientists did not see any prospects in titanium, since it was very fragile. But in 1925, Dutch scientists I. de Boer and A. Van Arkel were able to obtain pure titanium in the laboratory, which became a real breakthrough in all industries.
Properties of titanium
Pure titanium turned out to be incredibly technological. It has ductility, low density, high specific strength, corrosion resistance, and strength when exposed to high temperatures. Titanium is twice as strong as steel and six times as strong. Titanium is indispensable in supersonic aviation. After all, at an altitude of 20 km it develops a speed that exceeds the speed of sound three times. In this case, the temperature of the aircraft body heats up to 300°C. Only titanium alloys can withstand such conditions.
Titanium shavings are a fire hazard, and titanium dust can generally explode. During an explosion, the flash point can reach 400°C.
The most durable on the planet
Titanium is so light and strong that its alloys are used to make aircraft and submarine hulls, body armor and tank armor, and are also used in nuclear technology. Another remarkable property of this metal is its passive effect on living tissue. Only osteoprostheses are made from. Semi-precious stones and jewelry are made from some titanium compounds.
The chemical industry has also not ignored titanium. In many aggressive environments, metal does not corrode. Titanium dioxide is used to make white paint, in the production of plastic and paper, and as a food additive E171.
On the scale of metal hardness, titanium is second only to platinum metals and tungsten.
Distribution and stocks
Titanium is a fairly common metal. It ranks tenth in this indicator. The earth's crust contains about 0.57% titanium. At the moment, scientists know over a hundred minerals that contain metal. Its deposits are scattered almost all over the world. Titanium mining is carried out in China, South Africa, Russia, Ukraine, India and Japan.
Progress
For several years now, scientists have been conducting research on a new metal, which was called “liquid metal”. This invention claims to be the new, most durable metal on the planet. But it has not yet been obtained in solid form.
When the word “metal” is mentioned, everyone probably pictures in their imagination a hard, durable and super-strong sheet of iron that cannot simply be bent or broken. However, metals are very different. And if you are wondering which metal is the strongest in the world, then we will provide you with a reliable answer and tell you about such a metal. It is a silver-white material called “titanium”.
Opened by whom and when?
Two scientists worked on the discovery of this metal at once - the Englishman W. Gregory and the German M. Klaptor. They discovered this element at the end of the eighteenth century, but with an interval of six years. In the periodic table, titanium appeared under the twenty-second serial number immediately after the discovery of the metal by scientists. However, due to its high fragility, titanium was not used for a long time. And in 1925 Dutch physicists made a real discovery, isolating the purest titanium, which combines many advantages. The metal has become distinguished by its high manufacturability, excellent specific strength, resistance to corrosion and incredible strength when exposed to high temperatures.
Main characteristics of titanium
The strongest metal in the world, created by scientists in 1925, is incredibly ductile, which makes it possible to create sheets, rods, tape, pipes, wire and foil from it. In terms of hardness, titanium is four times harder than iron and copper, and also in this parameter, titanium is twelve times stronger than aluminum. Titanium products retain their strength even when exposed to high temperatures. Titanium parts can serve for a long time under the influence of ultra-high loads.
Also, the strongest metal on Earth has excellent anti-corrosion characteristics. For example, a titanium plate placed in seawater was not exposed to rust for ten years. Electrical and radio electronics engineers have an increased interest in this metal - and all because the strongest metal in the world has significant electrical resistance and is distinguished by non-magnetic properties.
Why is this metal called “titanium”?
There are two versions of the origin of its name. According to one of them, it is believed that the silver-white metal was named after the fairy queen Titania, who is known from German mythology. And all because the material, in addition to its high strength, is also incredibly lightweight. According to another version, the metal is named after the mighty children of the goddess Gaia - the Titans. It is difficult to judge which of these versions is more plausible, but it can be noted that each of them is remarkable and has a place to be.
Application of titanium
The use of silver metal is quite widespread. It is used in the military industry (the construction of missiles, armor for aircraft, hulls for submarines, etc.), medicine (prosthetics), the automotive industry, the agricultural industry, the manufacture of mobile phones and the production of jewelry.
Even lighter and more durable
Quite recently, Californian scientists told the world that they had discovered the lightest and strongest metal. This is a liquid metal that is created from a mixture of graphene oxide and lyophilized carbon. Liquid metal has already received high marks from experts and has established itself as an ideal casting and stainless material.
The new metal is so light that flower petals can easily hold it. As you know, graphene is distinguished not only by its lightness and high strength, but also by its excellent flexibility. Therefore, scientists today are developing developments in the direction of creating ultra-light materials, and perhaps in the near future even more unique materials will appear before humanity.
