It is said that for each type of substance there is a "most extreme" option. Sure, we've all heard stories about magnets strong enough to injure children from the inside and acids that will pass through your hands in a matter of seconds, but there are even more "extreme" versions of these.
The blackest matter known to man
What happens if you stack the edges of carbon nanotubes on top of each other and alternate layers of them? The result is a material that absorbs 99.9% of the light that hits it. The microscopic surface of the material is uneven and rough, which refracts light and is also a poor reflective surface. After that, try using carbon nanotubes as superconductors in a specific order, which makes them excellent light absorbers, and you'll get a real black storm. Scientists are seriously puzzled by the potential uses of this substance, since, in fact, light is not “lost”, the substance could be used to improve optical devices such as telescopes and even be used for solar cells operating at almost 100% efficiency.
The most flammable substance
Lots of things burn at an astonishing rate, such as styrofoam, napalm, and that's just the beginning. But what if there was a substance that could set the earth on fire? On the one hand, this is a provocative question, but it was asked as a starting point. Chlorine trifluoride has the dubious reputation of being a horribly flammable substance, even though the Nazis believed the substance was too dangerous to work with. When people who discuss genocide believe that their purpose in life is not to use something because it is too lethal, it supports careful handling of these substances. They say that one day a ton of the substance spilled and a fire started, and 30.5 cm of concrete and a meter of sand and gravel burned out until everything calmed down. Unfortunately, the Nazis were right.
The most poisonous substance
Tell me, what would you least like to get on your face? This could well be the deadliest poison, which would rightfully take 3rd place among the main extreme substances. Such a poison is indeed different from what burns through concrete, and from the strongest acid in the world (which will soon be invented). Although not entirely true, you have all undoubtedly heard from the medical community about Botox, and thanks to it, the deadliest poison has become famous. Botox uses botulinum toxin, produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum, and it is very deadly, with the amount of a grain of salt being enough to kill a 200-pound person. In fact, scientists have calculated that spraying just 4 kg of this substance is enough to kill all people on earth. An eagle would probably treat a rattlesnake much more humanely than this poison would treat a person.
The hottest substance
There are very few things in the world known to man that are hotter than the inside of a freshly microwaved Hot Pocket, but this stuff looks set to break that record too. Created by colliding gold atoms at nearly the speed of light, the substance is called quark-gluon "soup" and reaches a crazy 4 trillion degrees Celsius, which is almost 250,000 times hotter than the stuff inside the Sun. The amount of energy released in the collision would be enough to melt protons and neutrons, which itself has features you wouldn't even suspect. Scientists say this material could give us a glimpse of what the birth of our universe was like, so it's worth understanding that tiny supernovae aren't created for fun. However, the really good news is that the "soup" took up one trillionth of a centimeter and lasted for a trillionth of one trillionth of a second.
The most corrosive acid
Acid is a terrible substance, one of the scariest monsters in cinema was given acid blood to make him even more terrible than just a killing machine (Alien), so it is ingrained within us that exposure to acid is a very bad thing. If the "aliens" were filled with fluoride-antimony acid, not only would they fall deep through the floor, but the fumes emitted from their dead bodies would kill everything around them. This acid is 21019 times stronger than sulfuric acid and can seep through glass. And it can explode if you add water. And during its reaction, toxic fumes are released that can kill anyone in the room.
The most explosive explosive
In fact, this place is currently shared by two components: HMX and heptanitrocubane. Heptanitrocubane mainly exists in laboratories, and is similar to HMX, but has a denser crystal structure, which carries a greater potential for destruction. HMX, on the other hand, exists in large enough quantities that it can threaten physical existence. It is used in solid fuel for rockets, and even for nuclear weapons detonators. And the last one is the worst, because despite how easily it happens in the movies, starting the fission/fusion reaction that results in bright glowing nuclear clouds that look like mushrooms is not an easy task, but HMX does it perfectly.
The most radioactive substance
Speaking of radiation, it's worth mentioning that the glowing green "plutonium" rods shown in The Simpsons are just fiction. Just because something is radioactive doesn't mean it glows. It's worth mentioning because polonium-210 is so radioactive that it glows blue. Former Soviet spy Alexander Litvinenko was misled into having the substance added to his food and died of cancer soon after. This is not something you want to joke about; the glow is caused by the air around the material being affected by radiation, and, in fact, objects around it can heat up. When we say “radiation,” we think, for example, of a nuclear reactor or explosion where a fission reaction actually occurs. This is only the release of ionized particles, and not the out-of-control splitting of atoms.
The heaviest substance
If you thought the heaviest substance on Earth was diamonds, it was a good but inaccurate guess. This is a technically engineered diamond nanorod. It is actually a collection of nano-scale diamonds, the least compressed and the heaviest substance known to man. It doesn't actually exist, but that would be pretty handy since it means that someday we could cover our cars with this stuff and just get rid of it when a train collision occurs (not a realistic event). This substance was invented in Germany in 2005 and will probably be used to the same extent as industrial diamonds, except that the new substance is more resistant to wear and tear than regular diamonds.
The most magnetic substance
If the inductor were a small black piece, then it would be the same substance. The substance, developed in 2010 from iron and nitrogen, has magnetic powers that are 18% greater than the previous record holder and is so powerful that it has forced scientists to reconsider how magnetism works. The person who discovered this substance distanced himself from his studies so that no other scientist could reproduce his work, since it was reported that a similar compound was developed in Japan in the past in 1996, but other physicists could not reproduce it, so this substance was not officially accepted. It is unclear whether Japanese physicists should promise to make Sepuku under these circumstances. If this substance can be reproduced, it could herald a new age of efficient electronics and magnetic motors, perhaps enhanced in power by an order of magnitude.
The strongest superfluidity
Superfluidity is a state of matter (either solid or gaseous) that occurs at extremely low temperatures, has high thermal conductivity (every ounce of that substance must be at exactly the same temperature) and no viscosity. Helium-2 is the most typical representative. The helium-2 cup will spontaneously rise and spill out of the container. Helium-2 will also leak through other solid materials, as the complete lack of friction allows it to flow through other invisible holes that regular helium (or water for that matter) would not leak through. Helium-2 does not come into its proper state at number 1, as if it has the ability to act on its own, although it is also the most efficient thermal conductor on Earth, several hundred times better than copper. Heat moves so quickly through Helium-2 that it travels in waves, like sound (known actually as "second sound"), rather than being dissipated, where it simply moves from one molecule to another. By the way, the forces that control the ability of helium-2 to crawl along the wall are called the “third sound.” You're unlikely to get anything more extreme than a substance that required the definition of 2 new types of sound.
Precious metals have captivated the minds of people for centuries, who are willing to pay huge sums for products made from them, but the metal in question is not used in jewelry production. Osmium is the heaviest substance on Earth, which is classified as a rare earth precious metal. Due to its high density, this substance has a lot of weight. Is osmium the heaviest substance (among those known) not only on planet Earth, but also in space?
This substance is a shiny blue-gray metal. Despite the fact that it is a representative of the noble metal family, it is not possible to make jewelry from it, since it is very hard and, at the same time, fragile. Because of these qualities, osmium is difficult to machine, and to this we must add its considerable weight. If you weigh a cube made of osmium (side length 8 cm) and compare it with the weight of a 10-liter bucket filled with water, the first will be 1.5 kg heavier than the second.
The heaviest substance on Earth was discovered at the beginning of the 18th century, thanks to chemical experiments with platinum ore by dissolving the latter in aqua regia (a mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acids). Since osmium does not dissolve in acids and alkalis, melts at a temperature slightly above 3000°C, boils at 5012°C, and does not change its structure at a pressure of 770 GPa, it can confidently be considered the most powerful substance on Earth.
Osmium deposits do not exist in nature in its pure form; it is usually found in compounds with other chemicals. Its content in the earth's crust is negligible, and extraction is labor-intensive. These factors have a huge impact on the cost of osmium; its price is amazing, because it is much more expensive than gold.
Due to its high cost, this substance is not widely used for industrial purposes, but only in cases where its use is determined by maximum benefit. Thanks to the combination of osmium with other metals, the wear resistance of the latter, their durability and resistance to mechanical stress (friction and corrosion of metals) increase. Such alloys are used in rocketry, military and aviation industries. An alloy of osmium and platinum is used in medicine to make surgical instruments and implants. Its use is justified in the production of highly sensitive instruments, watch movements and compasses.
An interesting fact is that scientists find osmium, along with other precious metals, in the chemical composition of iron meteorites that fell to earth. Does this mean that this element is the heaviest substance on Earth and in space?
This is difficult to say. The fact is that the conditions of outer space are very different from those on earth; the force of gravity between objects is very strong, which in turn leads to a significant increase in the density of some space objects. One example is stars, which are made of neutrons. By earthly standards, this is a huge weight in one cubic millimeter. And these are only grains of knowledge that humanity possesses.
The most expensive and heaviest substance on earth is osmium-187; only Kazakhstan sells it on the world market, but this isotope has not yet been used in industry.
Extraction of osmium is a very labor-intensive process, and it takes at least nine months to obtain it in consumer form. In this regard, the annual production of osmium in the world is only about 600 kg (this is very small compared to the production of gold, which is calculated in thousands of tons annually).
The name of the most powerful substance, “osmium,” is translated as “smell,” but the metal itself does not smell of anything, but the smell appears during the oxidation of osmium, and it is quite unpleasant.
So, in terms of heaviness and density on Earth, there is no equal to osmium, this metal is also described as the rarest, most expensive, most durable, most brilliant, and experts also say that osmium oxide has very strong toxicity.
Osmium is currently defined as the heaviest substance on the planet. Just one cubic centimeter of this substance weighs 22.6 grams. It was discovered in 1804 by the English chemist Smithson Tennant; when gold was dissolved in a test tube, a precipitate remained. This happened due to the peculiarity of osmium; it is insoluble in alkalis and acids.
The heaviest element on the planet
It is a bluish-white metallic powder. It occurs in nature in seven isotopes, six of which are stable and one is unstable. It is slightly denser than iridium, which has a density of 22.4 grams per cubic centimeter. Of the materials discovered to date, the heaviest substance in the world is osmium.
It belongs to the group of lanthanum, yttrium, scandium and other lanthanides.
More expensive than gold and diamonds
Very little of it is mined, about ten thousand kilograms per year. Even the largest source of osmium, the Dzhezkazgan deposit, contains about three ten-millionth parts. The market value of the rare metal in the world reaches about 200 thousand dollars per gram. Moreover, the maximum purity of the element during the purification process is about seventy percent.
Although Russian laboratories managed to obtain a purity of 90.4 percent, the amount of metal did not exceed a few milligrams.
Density of matter beyond planet Earth
Osmium is undoubtedly the leader of the heaviest elements on our planet. But if we turn our gaze into space, then our attention will reveal many substances heavier than our “king” of heavy elements.
The fact is that in the Universe there are conditions somewhat different than on Earth. The gravity of the series is so great that the substance becomes incredibly dense.
If we consider the structure of the atom, we will find that the distances in the interatomic world are somewhat reminiscent of the space we see. Where planets, stars and others are at a fairly large distance. The rest is occupied by emptiness. This is exactly the structure that atoms have, and with strong gravity this distance decreases quite significantly. Up to the “pressing” of some elementary particles into others.
Neutron stars are super-dense space objects
By searching beyond our Earth, we may find the heaviest matter in space in neutron stars.
These are quite unique space inhabitants, one of the possible types of stellar evolution. The diameter of such objects ranges from 10 to 200 kilometers, with a mass equal to our Sun or 2-3 times more.
This cosmic body mainly consists of a neutron core, which consists of flowing neutrons. Although, according to some scientists’ assumptions, it should be in a solid state, reliable information does not exist today. However, it is known that it is neutron stars that, having reached their compression limit, subsequently transform into a colossal release of energy, on the order of 10 43 -10 45 joules.
The density of such a star is comparable, for example, to the weight of Mount Everest placed in a matchbox. This is hundreds of billions of tons in one cubic millimeter. For example, to make it more clear how high the density of matter is, let’s take our planet with its mass of 5.9 × 1024 kg and “turn” it into a neutron star.
As a result, in order to equal the density of a neutron star, it must be reduced to the size of an ordinary apple, with a diameter of 7-10 centimeters. The density of unique stellar objects increases as you move toward the center.
Layers and density of matter
The outer layer of the star is represented in the form of a magnetosphere. Directly below it, the density of the substance already reaches about one ton per cubic centimeter. Given our knowledge of the Earth, at the moment, this is the heaviest substance of the discovered elements. But don't rush to conclusions.
Let's continue our research into unique stars. They are also called pulsars because of the high speed of rotation around their axis. This indicator for various objects ranges from several tens to hundreds of revolutions per second.
Let us proceed further in the study of superdense cosmic bodies. This is followed by a layer that has the characteristics of a metal, but is likely similar in behavior and structure. Crystals are much smaller than we see in the crystal lattice of Earthly substances. To build a line of 1 centimeter crystals, you will need to lay out more than 10 billion elements. The density in this layer is one million times higher than in the outer layer. This is not the heaviest material in the star. Next comes a layer rich in neutrons, the density of which is a thousand times higher than the previous one.
Neutron star core and its density
Below is the core, this is where the density reaches its maximum - twice as high as the overlying layer. The substance of the core of a celestial body consists of all elementary particles known to physics. With this, we have reached the end of the journey to the core of a star in search of the heaviest substance in space.
The mission in search of substances unique in density in the Universe seems to be completed. But space is full of mysteries and undiscovered phenomena, stars, facts and patterns.
Black holes in the Universe
You should pay attention to what is already open today. These are black holes. Perhaps these mysterious objects may be candidates for the fact that the heaviest matter in the Universe is their component. Note that the gravity of black holes is so strong that light cannot escape.
According to scientists, matter drawn into the space-time region becomes so dense that there is no space left between elementary particles.
Unfortunately, beyond the event horizon (the so-called boundary where light and any object, under the influence of gravity, cannot leave a black hole), our guesses and indirect assumptions based on the emission of particle streams follow.
A number of scientists suggest that space and time mix beyond the event horizon. There is an opinion that they may be a “passage” to another Universe. Perhaps this is true, although it is quite possible that beyond these limits another space opens up with completely new laws. An area where time exchanges “place” with space. The location of the future and the past is determined simply by the choice of following. Like our choice to go right or left.
It is potentially possible that there are civilizations in the Universe that have mastered time travel through black holes. Perhaps in the future people from planet Earth will discover the secret of traveling through time.
Among the wonders hidden in the depths of the universe, a small star near Sirius will probably forever retain one of its significant places. This star is made of matter 60,000 times heavier than water! When we pick up a glass of mercury, we are surprised by how heavy it is: it weighs about 3 kg. But what would we say about a glass of a substance that weighs 12 tons and requires a railway platform to transport? This seems absurd, and yet this is one of the discoveries of modern astronomy.
This discovery has a long and highly instructive history. It has long been noticed that the brilliant Sirius makes its own movement among the stars not in a straight line, like most other stars, but along a strange winding path. To explain these features of its movement, the famous astronomer Bessel suggested that Sirius is accompanied by a satellite, which “disturbs” its movement with its attraction. This was in 1844 - two years before Neptune was discovered "at the tip of a pen." And in 1862, after Bessel’s death, his guess was fully confirmed, since the suspected satellite of Sirius was seen through a telescope.
The satellite of Sirius - the so-called "Sirius B" - orbits the main star at 49 years at a distance 20 times greater than the Earth around the Sun (i.e., approximately at the distance of Uranus). This is a faint star of the eighth or ninth magnitude, but its mass is very impressive, almost 0.8 times the mass of our Sun. At the distance of Sirius, our Sun would be shining as a 1.8th magnitude star; therefore, if the satellite of Sirius had a surface reduced in comparison with the solar one in accordance with the ratio of the masses of these luminaries, then at the same temperature it would have to shine like a star of approximately the second magnitude, and not the eighth or ninth. Astronomers initially attributed such a weak brightness to the low temperature on the surface of this star; it was viewed as a cooling sun, becoming covered with a hard crust.
But this assumption turned out to be wrong. It was possible to establish that the modest satellite of Sirius is not a fading star at all, but, on the contrary, belongs to stars with a high surface temperature, much higher than that of our Sun. This changes things completely. The weak brightness must therefore be attributed only to the small size of the surface of this star. It is calculated that it sends out 360 times less light than the Sun; This means that its surface must be at least 360 times smaller than the solar one, and its radius must be j/360, i.e. 19 times smaller than the solar one. From this we conclude that the volume of the Sirius satellite should be less than 6800th of the volume of the Sun, while its mass is almost 0.8 of the mass of the daylight star. This alone indicates the high density of the matter of this star. A more accurate calculation gives for the diameter of the planet only 40,000 km, and therefore for the density - the monstrous number that we gave at the beginning of the section: 60,000 times the density of water.
“Prick up your ears, physicists: an invasion of your field is being planned,” comes to mind the words of Kepler, spoken by him, however, on a different occasion. Indeed, no physicist could have imagined anything like this until now. Under ordinary conditions, such a significant compaction is completely unthinkable, since the spaces between normal atoms in solids are too small to allow any noticeable compression of their substance. The situation is different in the case of “mutilated” atoms, which have lost those electrons that were circling around the nuclei. The loss of electrons reduces the diameter of the atom by several thousand times, almost without reducing its weight; the exposed nucleus is smaller than a normal atom by about the same amount as a fly is smaller than a large building. Shifted by the monstrous pressure prevailing in the depths of the stellar globe, these reduced atom-nuclei can come together thousands of times closer than normal atoms, and create a substance of the unheard-of density that is found on the satellite of Sirius.
After what has been said, it will not seem incredible to discover a star whose average density of matter is still 500 times greater than that of the previously mentioned star Sirius B. We are talking about a small star of the 13th magnitude in the constellation Cassiopeia, discovered at the end of 1935. Being in volume no larger than Mars and eight times smaller than the Earth, this star has a mass almost three times the mass of our Sun (more precisely, 2.8 times). In ordinary units, the average density of its substance is expressed as 36,000,000 g/cm3. This means that 1 cm3 of such a substance would weigh 36 tons on Earth. This substance, therefore, is almost 2 million times denser than gold.
A few years ago, scientists, of course, would have considered the existence of a substance millions of times denser than platinum unthinkable. The abysses of the universe probably hide many more similar wonders of nature.
Man has always sought to find materials that leave no chance for his competitors. Since ancient times, scientists have been looking for the hardest materials in the world, the lightest and the heaviest. The thirst for discovery led to the discovery of an ideal gas and an ideal black body. We present to you the most amazing substances in the world.
1. The blackest substance
The blackest substance in the world is called Vantablack and consists of a collection of carbon nanotubes (see carbon and its allotropes). Simply put, the material consists of countless “hairs”, once caught in them, the light bounces from one tube to another. In this way, about 99.965% of the light flux is absorbed and only a tiny fraction is reflected back out.
The discovery of Vantablack opens up broad prospects for the use of this material in astronomy, electronics and optics.
2. The most flammable substance
Chlorine trifluoride is the most flammable substance ever known to mankind. It is a strong oxidizing agent and reacts with almost all chemical elements. Chlorine trifluoride can burn concrete and easily ignite glass! The use of chlorine trifluoride is practically impossible due to its phenomenal flammability and the impossibility of ensuring safe use.
3. The most poisonous substance
The most powerful poison is botulinum toxin. We know it under the name Botox, which is what it is called in cosmetology, where it has found its main application. Botulinum toxin is a chemical produced by the bacteria Clostridium botulinum. In addition to the fact that botulinum toxin is the most toxic substance, it also has the largest molecular weight among proteins. The phenomenal toxicity of the substance is evidenced by the fact that only 0.00002 mg min/l of botulinum toxin is enough to make the affected area deadly to humans for half a day.
4. The hottest substance
This is the so-called quark-gluon plasma. The substance was created by colliding gold atoms at near light speed. Quark-gluon plasma has a temperature of 4 trillion degrees Celsius. For comparison, this figure is 250,000 times higher than the temperature of the Sun! Unfortunately, the lifetime of matter is limited to a trillionth of one trillionth of a second.
5. The most caustic acid
In this nomination, the champion is fluoride-antimony acid H. Fluoride-antimony acid is 2×10 16 (two hundred quintillion) times more caustic than sulfuric acid. It is a very active substance and can explode if a small amount of water is added. The fumes of this acid are deadly poisonous.
6. The most explosive substance
The most explosive substance is heptanitrocubane. It is very expensive and is used only for scientific research. But the slightly less explosive octogen is successfully used in military affairs and in geology when drilling wells.
7. The most radioactive substance
Polonium-210 is an isotope of polonium that does not exist in nature, but is manufactured by humans. Used to create miniature, but at the same time, very powerful energy sources. It has a very short half-life and is therefore capable of causing severe radiation sickness.
8. The heaviest substance
This is, of course, fullerite. Its hardness is almost 2 times higher than that of natural diamonds. You can read more about fullerite in our article The Hardest Materials in the World.
9. The strongest magnet
The strongest magnet in the world is made of iron and nitrogen. At present, details about this substance are not available to the general public, but it is already known that the new super-magnet is 18% more powerful than the strongest magnets currently in use - neodymium. Neodymium magnets are made from neodymium, iron and boron.
10. The most fluid substance
Superfluid Helium II has almost no viscosity at temperatures close to absolute zero. This property is due to its unique property of leaking and pouring out of a vessel made of any solid material. Helium II has prospects for use as an ideal thermal conductor in which heat does not dissipate.
