Many ratings - serious and not very - claim that antimatter is the most expensive substance in the world. To get a gram of anti-hydrogen, you need to spend more than 62 trillion dollars. The question of the practical value of this substance is posed more and more definitely - many see it as a way to satisfy all the energy needs of mankind.
But in the world there are many less fantastic objects for investment.
Mushrooms and spices
Attempts to "cultivate" delicious truffle mushrooms are constantly undertaken, but do not bring tangible success. You can find it only in some limited areas of the planet, only during a very short season, while not every year is fruitful. Truffles cannot be found by many people who own specially trained pigs or dogs.
White truffle, originally from the Italian Piedmont, is less common than other types and is appreciated by gourmets for its particularly refined taste and aroma. Thanks to all this, white truffle is on the list of the most expensive substances in the world - the average cost of a gram is $ 5, and especially large copies are sold at auction, where the price can be tens of times higher.
Oriental spices and spices have become a profitable product since the opening of routes to India and the countries of the East. The method of collecting such a unique product as saffron has not changed much since then. To get 1 gram of the finished spice, you need to collect thin stigmas from several thousand flowers of one of the species of crocus.
What is sold in supermarkets under the name of saffron has nothing to do with the genuine “red gold of the East” - most likely, it is a mixture of cheaper turmeric or curry. The most expensive substance in the world from the world of spices is much more expensive - about $ 10 per gram.
Platinum Group Metals
In jewelry and in the manufacture of parts for electronics, materials with high plasticity, corrosion resistance, increased electrical conductivity and chemical inertness are used. Strength, a beautiful surface and a noble metallic luster are appreciated by jewelers and small plastic artists. Most often these are metals that are not widely distributed in nature, and their extraction and smelting are associated with serious costs.
The top most expensive substances in the world include precious metals of the platinum group. The following are most demanded in practical activities:
- Iridium - $ 16 per gram;
- Palladium - $ 17;
- Rhodium - $ 20;
- Platinum - $ 27.
The stable demand for platinum and metals similar to it is also due to its special chemical properties of the catalyst. Platinum, iridium and other similar substances give alloys the unique properties needed in a wide variety of industries. There is a steady need for such metals as objects of investment. In banking, in addition to platinum, other precious metals, especially palladium, are increasingly used for the manufacture of ingots, investment and collection coins.
"The Yellow Devil"
This metal, as the most expensive substance in the world, was the cherished goal of medieval alchemists. They unsuccessfully searched for a philosopher's stone with which it was possible to turn cheaper metals into gold.
The earth's crust contains very little gold as a percentage of other chemical elements, but the number of deposits where it is mined, including in the form of nuggets, is large. The history of its use by man goes back to time immemorial, which influenced the unique role of this noble metal in the development of civilization. Gold has long been the only material equivalent of the wealth of both entire states and individuals.
The physical and chemical properties of element number 79 made it an essential component of complex technical devices and systems for various purposes. But in industrial products or in dentistry, only a tenth of the world's reserves are used, most of them are centralized state funds (mainly in the form of standard, chemically pure ingots) and private property in the form of jewelry. Although today gold is not the most expensive substance in the world, it is the most familiar way of long-term investments. The average cost is more than $ 30 per gram.
Delicacy is more expensive than gold
It has long been considered a purely Russian product. Tons of sturgeon and beluga black caviar were exported all over the world. Today, official international trade is allowed only for some countries, and Iran is the main exporter. International organizations also made an exception for this country because of the severity of Iranian legislation against poaching and effective environmental measures in the country’s Caspian Sea.
It is the lack of state control over sturgeon fishing that is Russia's main problem in this industry. Experts say that illegal harvesting of black caviar reaches 90% of the domestic turnover of this valuable product. The monopoly proclaimed by the state does not stop the barbarous destruction of valuable fish species. The risk of illegal procurers is economically justified: for gourmets, black beluga caviar is the most expensive substance in the world. For a gram of this delicacy produced in Iran, you need to pay about $ 35.
Ah yes cream!
In 1950, rocket fuel tests were conducted at one of the objects of the American space agency NASA . The work was carried out in a "space race" with the USSR, so accidents were not uncommon. As a result of one of these incidents, scientist Max Huber received serious burns that left unpleasant scars on his face. Not accepting these blows of fate, he began independent research to find a means to eliminate traces of skin damage. He conducted thousands of experiments, tested by hundreds of components. As a result, the cream he received helped the scientist get rid of the scars. The unique healing effect on the skin of the composition invented by the father was appreciated by Huber's daughter, who proposed to establish its production. Now this cream is in the top 10 most expensive substances in the world - a gram of it costs $ 70.
The exact composition of the ointment is a trade secret. The effectiveness of the legendary cosmetic product, which was launched under the Crème de la Mer brand, is based on the nutritional properties of special algae, enhanced by a whole complex of vitamins.
Girls best friends
The 12 most expensive substances in the world, in addition to a unique cream for skin care, include expensive delicacy, rare and precious metals. But most of the items on this list are gems.
Their amazing strength and strict beauty, which they acquire after processing, has long fascinated man. It is no coincidence that the most outstanding examples of stones, like people, got their own names, under which they remained in world history. In addition to the traditional “pure water” diamonds, there are a number of rare non-ferrous minerals that, after cutting, become unique jewels and acquire the highest value.
The price of the most expensive minerals per 1 gram
- $ 3,250 - in Africa, not far from the famous Mount Kilimanjaro, there is the world's only deposit of the tanzanite mineral, named after the country where it is mined. After processing, it acquires a unique blue-violet hue. The famous stone from the movie "Titanic" is tanzanite.
- $ 10,000 - red crystals - red beryl from Utah - an even more valuable type of stones. It does not exceed 10 carats (2 grams) and is present in a very small number of collections.
- $ 20,000 - thiaffeite - a rare stone with a lilac hue, is found a million times less often than diamond. It does not have an exact place of origin; only a few specimens have been found in Ceylon and in China.
- $ 65,000 - they learned to grow diamonds artificially, this is the strongest material widely used in cutting and grinding tools. There are industrial diamond deposits on almost all continents of the planet, but its value is not declining.
- $ 300,000 - only one mineral is more expensive than diamond - painite. This is the rarest stone in the world. In the entire history of them, only a few were found, and only two had complete transparency and were faceted.
Eternal highlight
Some watches and key rings, having a specific, often green, backlight, contain particles of one of the most expensive substances on the planet - tritium. This hydrogen isotope has a radioactivity that makes a special phosphor coating glow. No additional power sources are required to maintain the glow, and a noticeable loss in backlight intensity can be noticed no earlier than half a century later.
Superheavy hydrogen - tritium - is produced in nuclear reactors by intensively irradiating one of the lithium isotopes. In addition to industrial use, this substance is a necessary component of nuclear weapons, which must be periodically replenished to support its combat effectiveness. The cost of 1 g of tritium is $ 30,000.
Chemical elements of artificial origin
The list of the 10 most expensive substances in the world that have practical value is headed by California - a silver-white radioactive metal artificially produced at two plants in the world: one in the Moscow Region and the other in the USA. For one of the options for producing California, another metal is required, which is included in the list of the most expensive substances - plutonium.
In nature, plutonium is present in negligible quantities, so it is also produced in nuclear facilities from natural or enriched uranium. In total, about one and a half tons of it are accumulated in the form of components of atomic charges and fuel for nuclear power plants.
The cost of a gram of plutonium is $ 4000. To obtain another chemical element from it - California, plutonium is subjected to intensive neutron irradiation in a nuclear reactor for 8 years. From the resulting radiation products as a result of a chemical reaction, California is isolated. As a result, it turns out that the cost of a gram of this metal is $ 6,500,000. In the year it produces only a few milligrams, which are used as a radiation source in the treatment of tumors, in scientific experiments on nuclear fission, in the production of detectors and sensors for various purposes.