Top ten hardest materials in the world

Actually, it’s very hard to say which material is hardest in the world, it depends on the kind of intensity which we are talking about- tensile strength, shear ductility, yield strength or hardness. Because there are many definitions of intensity, this article will introduce 10 kinds of materials, analyzing their intensities from different aspects.

10. Diamond

A diamond is a transparent crystal of tetrahedrally bonded carbon atoms in a covalent network lattice (sp3) that crystallizes into the diamond lattice which is a variation of the face centered cubic structure. Diamonds have been adapted for many uses because of the material's exceptional physical characteristics. Most notable is its extreme hardness. It’s widely used for drill, abrasive paper, saw, etc., and can be used for cutting, grinding, polishing, and so on. Even diamond is hardest, intensity is not the biggest, and it will be pieced when you hit it with hammer.

 

09. Cobweb

Cobweb is with very high tensile strength, its bearing tension is higher than steel, and can be pulling much longer. Cobweb which with the highest intensity comes from Madagascar Caerostris darwini, it can make one of the biggest spider web in the world.

 

08. carbon/carbon composites

There are many kinds of carbon/carbon composites, and all the materials are with good intensity, for example, tungsten carbide. They can resist huge tension, and can absorb a large amount of strength before crazing. It is very light, so the kind of composite can be used for aeroengine, Space Shuttle shell and transcontinental ballistic missile cone.  

 

07. Osmium (Os )

Osmium (from Greek osme (ὀσμή) meaning "smell") is a chemical element with symbol Os and atomic number 76. It is a hard, brittle, bluish-white transition metal in the platinum group that is found as a trace element in alloys, mostly in platinum ores. Osmium is the densest naturally occurring element, with a density of 22.59 g/cm3. Its alloys with platinum, iridium, and other platinum group metals are employed in fountain pen nibs, electrical contacts, and other applications where extreme durability and hardness are needed.

 

06. Maraging steel

Maraging steels (a portmanteau of "martensitic" and "aging") are steels (iron alloys) that are known for possessing superior strength and toughness without losing malleability, it can be used in aerospace, die and other aspects. Maraging means the aging of martensite, hard tissue usually appears in steel.

 

05. Metallic glass

Metallic glass is made from palladium microalloy, its chemical structure can neutralize inherent grass fragility while keeping its hardness. Low density, and lighter than steel, similar to Al and Ti.

 

04. Wurtzite boron nitride

Wurtzite boron nitride has similar structure with diamond, but diamond is formed by carton which under high pressure for a certain period, wurtzite boron nitride is formed under high pressure and high temperature when volcano erupting, its hardness is 18% higher than diamond’s. Similar to diamond, wurtzite boron nitride is employed in cutting tool and other areas which extreme hardness is needed.

 

03. Hexagonal diamond

Hexagonal diamond is maybe the hardest material in natural. It is an allotrope of carbon with a hexagonal lattice. In nature, it forms when meteorites containing graphite strike the Earth. The great heat and stress of the impact transforms the graphite into diamond, but retains graphite's hexagonal crystal lattice. Hexagonal diamond’s hardness is 58% higher than diamond’s.

 

02. Graphene

Graphene is an allotrope of carbon in the form of a two-dimensional, atomic-scale, hexagonal lattice in which one atom forms each vertex. It is about 200 times stronger than steel by weight, conducts heat and electricity with great efficiency and is nearly transparent. Researchers have identified the bipolar transistor effect, ballistic transport of charges and large quantum oscillations in the material.

 

01.   Carbyne polysulfide

Even carbyne polysulfide is just a string of a single atom, tensile strength of it is double of its precursor – graphene. tensible rigidity is 3 times of diamond, it’s very stable under room temperature, it can form a predictable crosslinking with other chains when they are stored together. Simple structure, but its hardness is 200 times of steel’s.