In his activity, a person uses various qualities of substances and materials. And not at all unimportant is their strength and reliability. The hardest materials in nature and created artificially will be discussed in this article.
Generally accepted standard
To determine the strength of the material, the Mohs scale is used - a scale for assessing the hardness of a material by its reaction to scratching. For the layman, the hardest material is diamond. You will be surprised, but this mineral is only somewhere in 10th place among the hardest. On average, a material is considered superhard if its performance is above 40 GPa. In addition, when identifying the hardest material in the world, the nature of its origin should be taken into account. At the same time, strength and strength often depend on the influence of external factors on it.
The hardest material on earth
In this section, we pay attention to chemical compounds with an unusual crystal structure, which are much stronger than diamonds and may well scratch it. Here are the top 6 hardest materials created by man, starting with the least hard.
- Carbon Nitride - Boron. This achievement of modern chemistry has a strength index of 76 GPa.
- Graphene airgel (airbrush) - the material is 7 times lighter than air, restoring shape after 90% compression. Amazingly strong material, which is also capable of absorbing the amount of liquid or even oil 900 times its own weight. This material is planned to be used for oil spills.
- Graphene is a unique invention and the most durable material in the universe. About him below a little more.
- Carbin is a linear polymer of allotropic carbon, from which superthin (1 atom) and superstrong tubes are made. For a long time, no one was able to build such a tube with a length of more than 100 atoms. But Austrian scientists from the University of Vienna managed to overcome this barrier. In addition, if earlier carbine was synthesized in small quantities and was very expensive, today it is possible to synthesize it in tons. This opens up new horizons for space technology and beyond.
- Elbor (kingsongite, cubonite, borazon) is a nanoconstructed compound that is now widely used in metal processing. Hardness - 108 GPa.
- Fullerite - this is the hardest material on Earth known to man today. Its strength of 310 GPa is ensured by the fact that it does not consist of individual atoms, but of molecules. These crystals can easily scratch a diamond like a butter knife.
The miracle of human hands
Graphene is another invention of mankind based on allotropic modifications of carbon. In appearance - a thin film with a thickness of one atom, but 200 times stronger than steel, which has exceptional flexibility.
It is about graphene that they say that in order to pierce it, an elephant must stand on the tip of a pencil. At the same time, its electrical conductivity is 100 times higher than silicon of computer chips. Very soon he will leave the laboratory and enter everyday life in the form of solar panels, cell phones and chips of modern computers.
Two very rare results of anomalies in nature
In nature, there are very rare compounds that have incredible strength.
- Boron nitride is a substance whose crystals have a specific wurtzite form. With the application of loads, the compounds between the atoms in the crystal lattice are redistributed, increasing the strength by 75%. The hardness index is 114 GPa. This substance is formed during volcanic eruptions, in nature it is very small.
- Lonsdaleit (in the main photo) is a compound of allotropic carbon. The material was discovered in a funnel of a meteorite, it is believed that it was formed from graphite under the influence of explosion conditions. The hardness index is 152 GPa. It is rare in nature.
Wonders of wildlife
Among the living beings on our planet there are those who have something completely special.
- Cobweb Caerostris darwini. The thread that the Darwin spider makes is stronger than steel and harder than Kevlar. It was this web that was taken by NASA scientists into service when developing space protective suits.
- Mollusk teeth Saucer - their fibrous structure is being studied today by bionics. They are so strong that they allow the mollusk to tear off the algae that have grown into stone.
Iron birch
Another natural wonder is Schmidt's birch. Its wood is the hardest natural material of biological origin. It grows in the Far East in the reserve Kedrovaya Pad and is listed in the Red Book. Strength is comparable to iron and cast iron. But at the same time it is not subject to corrosion and decay.
The widespread use of Schmidt birch wood , which even bullets do not pierce, is hindered by its exceptional rarity.
The hardest of metals
This metal is blue and white - chrome. But its strength depends on its purity. In nature, it contains 0.02%, which is not so small. It is extracted from silicate rocks. Meteorites falling to the Earth also contain a lot of chromium.
It is corrosion resistant, heat resistant and refractory. Chrome is part of many alloys (chrome steel, nichrome), which are widely used in industry and in anti-corrosion decorative coatings.
Together stronger
One metal is good, but in some combinations it is possible to give the alloy amazing properties.
The heavy-duty alloy of titanium and gold is the only strong material that has been biocompatible with living tissues. The beta-Ti3Au alloy is so strong that it cannot be crushed in a mortar. Today it is clear that this is the future of various implants, artificial joints and bones. In addition, it can be used in drilling, sports equipment manufacturing and in many other areas of our lives.
An alloy of palladium, silver, and certain metalloids may also have similar properties. Scientists at the Kaltek Institute are working on this project today.
The future at $ 20 per skein
What is the hardest material any layman can buy today? For just $ 20 you can buy 6 meters of Braeön tape. Since 2017, it went on sale from the manufacturer Dustin McVilliams. The chemical composition and production method are kept in strict confidence, but its quality is striking.
With a tape you can fasten absolutely everything. To do this, it must be wrapped around the fastened parts, heated with a regular lighter, give the plastic composition the desired shape and all. After cooling, the joint will withstand a load of 1 ton.
Both hard and soft
In 2017, information appeared about the creation of an amazing material - the hardest and softest at the same time. This metamaterial was invented by scientists from the University of Michigan. They managed to learn how to control the structure of the material and make it exhibit various properties.
For example, when using it to create cars when driving, the body will have rigidity, and in a collision it will have softness. The body absorbs contact energy and protects the passenger.