The world around us is fraught with many more mysteries, but even long-known phenomena scientists and substances never cease to amaze and delight. We admire bright colors, enjoy tastes and use the properties of all kinds of substances that make our life more comfortable, safer and more enjoyable. In search of the most reliable and strong materials, man has made many exciting discoveries, and in front of you is a selection of just 25 such unique compounds!

25. Diamonds

If not everyone, then almost everyone knows this for sure. Diamonds are not only one of the most revered gemstones, but also one of the hardest minerals on Earth. On the Mohs scale (a scale of hardness in which an assessment is given by the reaction of a mineral to scratching), diamond is listed on the 10th line. There are 10 positions in the scale, and the 10th is the last and hardest degree. Diamonds are so hard that they can only be scratched with other diamonds.

24. Trapping webs of the spider species Caaerostris darwini


Photo: pixabay

It's hard to believe, but the network of the spider Caerostris darwini (or Darwin's spider) is stronger than steel and harder than Kevlar. This web was recognized as the hardest biological material in the world, although now it already has a potential competitor, but the data has not yet been confirmed. Spider fiber was tested for characteristics such as breaking strain, impact strength, tensile strength and Young's modulus (the property of a material to resist stretching, compression under elastic deformation), and in all these indicators, the web showed itself in an amazing way. In addition, the trapping web of the Darwin spider is incredibly light. For example, if we wrap our planet with Caaerostris darwini fiber, the weight of such a long thread will be only 500 grams. Such long networks do not exist, but the theoretical calculations are simply amazing!

23. Aerographite


Photo: BrokenSphere

This synthetic foam is one of the lightest fibrous materials in the world and is a network of carbon tubes only a few microns in diameter. Aerographite is 75 times lighter than polystyrene, but at the same time much stronger and more ductile. It can be compressed down to 30 times its original size without any harm to its extremely elastic structure. Thanks to this property, airgraphite foam can withstand loads up to 40,000 times its own weight.

22. Palladium metallic glass


Photo: pixabay

A team of scientists from the California Institute of Technology and Berkeley Lab (California Institute of Technology, Berkeley Lab) has developed the new kind metal glass, combining an almost perfect combination of strength and ductility. The reason for the uniqueness of the new material lies in the fact that its chemical structure successfully masks the brittleness of existing glassy materials while maintaining a high endurance threshold, which ultimately significantly increases the fatigue strength of this synthetic structure.

21. Tungsten carbide


Photo: pixabay

Tungsten carbide is an incredibly hard material with high wear resistance. Under certain conditions, this compound is considered very brittle, but under heavy load it shows unique plastic properties, manifesting itself in the form of slip bands. Thanks to all these qualities, tungsten carbide is used in the manufacture of armor-piercing tips and various equipment, including all kinds of cutters, abrasive discs, drills, cutters, drill bits and other cutting tools.

20. Silicon carbide


Photo: Tiia Monto

Silicon carbide is one of the main materials used to make battle tanks. This compound is known for its low cost, outstanding refractoriness and high hardness, and is therefore often used in the manufacture of equipment or gear that must deflect bullets, cut or grind other hard materials. Silicon carbide makes excellent abrasives, semiconductors, and even inlays in jewelry that mimic diamonds.

19. Cubic boron nitride


Photo: wikimedia commons

Cubic boron nitride is a superhard material, similar in hardness to diamond, but also has a number of distinctive advantages - high temperature stability and chemical resistance. Cubic boron nitride does not dissolve in iron and nickel even under the influence of high temperatures, while diamond under the same conditions enters into chemical reactions fast enough. In fact, this is beneficial for its use in industrial grinding tools.

18. Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE), Dyneema fiber brand


Photo: Justsail

High modulus polyethylene has extremely high wear resistance, low coefficient of friction and high fracture toughness (low temperature reliability). Today it is considered the strongest fibrous substance in the world. The most amazing thing about this polyethylene is that it is lighter than water and can stop bullets at the same time! Cables and ropes made of Dyneema fibers do not sink in water, do not need lubrication and do not change their properties when wet, which is very important for shipbuilding.

17. Titanium alloys


Photo: Alchemist-hp (pse-mendelejew.de)

Titanium alloys are incredibly ductile and show amazing strength when stretched. In addition, they have high heat resistance and corrosion resistance, which makes them extremely useful in areas such as aircraft, rocketry, shipbuilding, chemical, food and transportation engineering.

16. Liquid metal alloy


Photo: pixabay

Developed in 2003 at the California technical institute(California Institute of Technology), this material is famous for its strength and durability. The name of the compound is associated with something brittle and liquid, but at room temperature it is actually unusually hard, wear-resistant, not afraid of corrosion and transforms when heated, like thermoplastics. The main areas of application so far are the manufacture of watches, golf clubs and covers for mobile phones (Vertu, iPhone).

15. Nanocellulose


Photo: pixabay

Nanocellulose is isolated from wood fibers and is a new type of wood material that is even stronger than steel! In addition, nanocellulose is also cheaper. The innovation has great potential and could seriously compete with glass and carbon fiber in the future. The developers believe that this material will soon be in great demand in the production of army armor, super-flexible screens, filters, flexible batteries, absorbent aerogels and biofuels.

14. Teeth of snails of the "sea saucer" type


Photo: pixabay

Earlier, we already told you about the trapping web of Darwin's spider, which was once recognized as the most durable biological material on the planet. However, a recent study showed that the limpet is the most durable biological substance known to science. Yes, these teeth are stronger than the web of Caaerostris darwini. And this is not surprising, because tiny sea creatures feed on algae growing on the surface of harsh rocks, and these animals have to work hard to separate food from the rock. Scientists believe that in the future we will be able to use the example of the fibrous structure of the teeth of limpets in the engineering industry and begin to build cars, boats and even aircraft of increased strength, inspired by the example of simple snails.

13. Maraging steel


Photo: pixabay

Maraging steel is a high strength and high alloy alloy with excellent ductility and toughness. The material is widely used in rocket science and is used to make all kinds of tools.

12. Osmium


Photo: Periodictableru / www.periodictable.ru

Osmium is incredible dense element, and due to its hardness and high melting point, it is difficult to machine. That is why osmium is used where durability and strength are most valued. Osmium alloys are found in electrical contacts, rocketry, military projectiles, surgical implants, and many other applications.

11. Kevlar


Photo: wikimedia commons

Kevlar is a high tenacity fiber found in car tires, brake pads, cables, prosthetics, body armor, protective clothing fabrics, shipbuilding and drone parts. aircraft. The material has become almost synonymous with strength and is a type of plastic with incredibly high strength and elasticity. The tensile strength of Kevlar is 8 times higher than that of steel wire, and it begins to melt at a temperature of 450℃.

10. Ultra high molecular weight polyethylene of high density, brand of fibers "Spectra" (Spectra)


Photo: Tomas Castelazo, www.tomascastelazo.com / Wikimedia Commons

UHMWPE is essentially a very durable plastic. Spectra, the UHMWPE brand, is, in turn, a light fiber of the highest wear resistance, 10 times superior to steel in this indicator. Like Kevlar, spectrum is used in the manufacture of body armor and protective helmets. Along with UHMWPE, dainimo spectrum is popular in the shipbuilding and transport industries.

9. Graphene


Photo: pixabay

Graphene is an allotropic modification of carbon, and its crystal cell only one atom thick is so strong that it is 200 times harder than steel. Graphene looks like cling film, but breaking it is an almost impossible task. To punch through a graphene sheet, you have to stick a pencil into it, on which you will have to balance a load with the weight of an entire school bus. Good luck!

8. Carbon nanotube paper


Photo: pixabay

Thanks to nanotechnology, scientists have managed to make paper that is 50,000 times thinner than a human hair. Sheets of carbon nanotubes are 10 times lighter than steel, but the most amazing thing is that they are as much as 500 times stronger! Macroscopic nanotube plates are the most promising for the manufacture of supercapacitor electrodes.

7. Metal microgrid


Photo: pixabay

Here is the lightest metal in the world! The metal microgrid is a synthetic porous material that is 100 times lighter than foam. But let him appearance Don't be fooled, these micro-grids are also incredibly strong, making them great potential for use in all sorts of engineering applications. They can be used to make excellent shock absorbers and thermal insulators, and the amazing ability of this metal to shrink and return to its original state allows it to be used to store energy. Metal microgrids are also actively used in the production of various parts for the aircraft of the American company Boeing.

6. Carbon nanotubes


Photo: User Mstroeck / en.wikipedia

Above, we have already talked about ultra-strong macroscopic carbon nanotube plates. But what kind of material is this? In fact, these are graphene planes rolled into a tube (9th point). The result is an incredibly light, resilient and durable material for a wide range of applications.

5. Airbrush


Photo: wikimedia commons

Also known as graphene airgel, this material is extremely light and strong at the same time. The new type of gel has completely replaced the liquid phase with a gaseous one, and it is characterized by sensational hardness, heat resistance, low density and low thermal conductivity. Incredibly, graphene airgel is 7 times lighter than air! The unique compound is able to regain its original shape even after 90% compression and can absorb up to 900 times the weight of oil used to absorb airbrush. Perhaps in the future this class of materials will help in the fight against such environmental disasters like oil spills.

4. Material without a name, the development of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)


Photo: pixabay

As you read this, a team of scientists at MIT is working to improve the properties of graphene. The researchers said that they have already managed to convert the two-dimensional structure of this material into three-dimensional. The new graphene substance has not yet received its name, but it is already known that its density is 20 times less than that of steel, and its strength is 10 times higher than that of steel.

3. Carbin


Photo: Smokefoot

Even though it's just linear chains of carbon atoms, carbyne has 2x the tensile strength of graphene and is 3x harder than diamond!

2. Boron nitride wurtzite modification


Photo: pixabay

This newly discovered natural substance is formed during volcanic eruptions, and it is 18% harder than diamonds. However, it surpasses diamonds in a number of other parameters. Wurtzite boron nitride is one of only 2 natural substances found on Earth that is harder than diamond. The problem is that there are very few such nitrides in nature, and therefore they are not easy to study or apply in practice.

1. Lonsdaleite


Photo: pixabay

Also known as hexagonal diamond, lonsdaleite is made up of carbon atoms, but in this modification, the atoms are arranged slightly differently. Like wurtzite boron nitride, lonsdaleite is a natural substance that is harder than diamond. Moreover, this amazing mineral is harder than diamond by as much as 58%! Like wurtzite boron nitride, this compound is extremely rare. Sometimes lonsdaleite is formed during a collision with the Earth of meteorites, which include graphite.

Precious metals have captivated the minds of people for centuries who are ready 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 belongs to the rare earth precious metals. Due to its high density, this substance has a large weight. Is osmium the heaviest substance (among the known ones) 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 genus of noble metals, 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, to which you still need to add its solid weight. If we weigh a cube made of osmium (side length 8 cm) and compare it with the weight of a 10-liter bucket filled with water, then 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, does not change its structure at a pressure of 770 GPa, it can be considered with confidence the strongest substance on Earth.

In its pure form, osmium deposits do not exist in nature, it is usually found in compounds with other chemicals. Its content in the earth's crust is scanty, 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 due to maximum benefit. Due 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 rocket science, military and aviation industries. An alloy of osmium and platinum is used in medicine for the manufacture of surgical instruments and implants. Its use is justified in the production of highly sensitive instruments, clockwork 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 the ground. Does this mean that this element is the heaviest substance on Earth and in space?

It is difficult to confirm this. The point is that the conditions outer space are very different from the earth, the gravitational force between objects is very strong, which in turn leads to a significant increase in the density of some space objects. One example is stars made up 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.

The extraction of osmium is a very laborious process, and it takes at least nine months before it is obtained in a 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 strongest 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 gravity and density on Earth, there is no equal to osmium, this metal is also described as the rarest, most expensive, most resistant, most brilliant, and experts also say that osmium oxide has a very strong toxicity.

It is said that for every type of substance there is a "most extreme" variant. Sure, we've all heard stories of magnets strong enough to injure kids from the inside, and acids that will go through your hands in seconds, but there are even more "extreme" versions of them.

The blackest matter known to man
What happens if you put 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 a poor reflective surface. After that try to use carbon nanotubes as superconductors in a certain order, which makes them excellent light absorbers, and you have a real black storm. Scientists are seriously puzzled by the potential applications 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 panels operating at almost 100% efficiency.

The most combustible substance
Lots of things burn at amazing rates, like styrofoam, napalm, and that's just the beginning. But what if there was a substance that could set fire to the earth? 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 terribly flammable, though the Nazis thought it was too dangerous to work with. When people who discuss genocide believe that the purpose of their life is not to use something because it is too lethal, this encourages careful handling of these substances. It is said that one day a ton of substance was spilled and a fire started, and 30.5 cm of concrete and a meter of sand and gravel burned out until everything subsided. Unfortunately, the Nazis were right.

The most poisonous substance
Tell me, what would you least like to get on your face? It could very well be the most deadly poison, which will rightfully take 3rd place among the main extreme substances. Such a poison is really different from what burns through concrete, and from the strongest acid in the world (which will be invented soon). Although not entirely true, but you all, no doubt, heard from the medical community about Botox, and thanks to it the most deadly poison became famous. Botox uses botulinum toxin, which is produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum, and it is very deadly, and the amount of a grain of salt is enough to kill a person weighing 200 pounds (90.72 kg; approx. mixednews). In fact, scientists have calculated that it is enough to spray only 4 kg of this substance to kill all people on earth. Probably, an eagle would have acted much more humanely with a rattlesnake than this poison with a person.

The hottest substance
There are very few things in the world known to man to be hotter than the inside of a newly microwaved Hot Pocket, but this stuff seems set to break that record as well. Created by the collision of gold atoms at almost the speed of light, matter is called quark-gluon "soup" and it 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 in itself has features that you did not even suspect. Scientists say this stuff 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" spanned 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 it even more terrible than just a killing machine ("Alien"), so it is ingrained inside us that exposure to acid is very bad. If the "aliens" were filled with fluoride-antimonial acid, not only would they sink 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, poisonous fumes are released that can kill anyone in the room.

The most explosive explosive
In fact, this place is currently divided by two components: octogen and heptanitrocuban. Heptanitrocuban 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 propellants for rockets, and even for detonators of nuclear weapons. And the last one is the most terrifying, because despite how easily it happens in the movies, starting a fission/fusion reaction that results in bright, glowing mushroom-like nuclear clouds is not an easy task, but octogen does an excellent job of it.

The most radioactive substance
Speaking of radiation, it's worth mentioning that the glowing green "plutonium" rods shown in The Simpsons are just a fantasy. 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 when the substance was added to his food and died of cancer shortly thereafter. This is not something you want to joke about, the glow is caused by the air around the substance being affected by the radiation, and in fact the objects around it can get hot. When we say "radiation", we think, for example, of a nuclear reactor or an explosion, where the fission reaction actually takes place. This is only the release of ionized particles, and not out of control splitting of atoms.

The heaviest substance
If you thought that the heaviest substance on earth was diamonds, that was a good but inaccurate guess. This is a technically created diamond nanorod. This is actually a collection of nano-scale diamonds, with the lowest degree of compression and the heaviest substance, known to man. It doesn't really exist, but which would be nice, since it means that someday we could cover our cars with this stuff and just get rid of it when the train hits (an unrealistic event). This substance was invented in Germany in 2005 and will probably be used to the same extent as industrial diamonds, except for the fact that the new substance is more resistant to wear than ordinary diamonds.

The most magnetic substance
If the inductor were a small black piece, then this would be the same substance. The substance, developed in 2010 from iron and nitrogen, has magnetic abilities that are 18% greater than the previous "record holder" and is so powerful that it has forced scientists to rethink how magnetism works. The person who discovered this substance distanced himself from his studies so that none of the other scientists could reproduce his work, as it was reported that a similar compound was being developed in Japan in the past in 1996, but other physicists were unable to reproduce it, therefore officially this substance was not accepted. It is unclear whether Japanese physicists should promise to make Sepuku under these circumstances. If this substance can be reproduced, it could mean new Age efficient electronics and magnetic motors, possibly increased in power by an order of magnitude.

The strongest superfluidity
Superfluidity is a state of matter (similar to solid or gaseous), which takes place at extreme low temperatures, has high thermal conductivity (every ounce of this substance must have exactly the same temperature) and no viscosity. Helium-2 is the most characteristic representative. The helium-2 cup will spontaneously rise and spill out of the container. Helium-2 will also seep through other solid materials, as the total lack of friction allows it to flow through other invisible openings through which ordinary helium (or water for this case) could not flow. "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 fast through "helium-2" that it travels in waves, like sound (actually known as "second sound"), rather than being dissipated, it simply moves from one molecule to another. By the way, the forces that govern the ability of "helium-2" to crawl along the wall are called the "third sound". You are unlikely to have anything more extreme than the substance that required the definition of 2 new types of sound.

"most extreme" option. Sure, we've all heard stories of magnets strong enough to injure kids from the inside, and acids that will go through your hands in seconds, but there are even more "extreme" versions of them.

1. The blackest matter known to man

What happens if you put 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 a poor reflective surface. After that, try to use carbon nanotubes as superconductors in a certain order, which makes them excellent light absorbers, and you have a real black storm. Scientists are seriously puzzled by the potential applications 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 panels operating at almost 100% efficiency.

2. The most combustible substance

Lots of things burn at amazing rates, like styrofoam, napalm, and that's just the beginning. But what if there was a substance that could set fire to the earth? 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 terribly flammable, though the Nazis thought it was too dangerous to work with. When people who discuss genocide believe that the purpose of their life is not to use something because it is too lethal, this encourages careful handling of these substances. It is said that one day a ton of substance was spilled and a fire started, and 30.5 cm of concrete and a meter of sand and gravel burned out until everything subsided. Unfortunately, the Nazis were right.

3. The most poisonous substance

Tell me, what would you least like to get on your face? It could very well be the most deadly poison, which will rightfully take 3rd place among the main extreme substances. Such a poison is really different from what burns through concrete, and from the strongest acid in the world (which will be invented soon). Although not entirely true, but you all, no doubt, heard from the medical community about Botox, and thanks to it the most deadly poison became famous. Botox uses botulinum toxin, which is produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum, and it is very deadly, and the amount of a grain of salt is enough to kill a person weighing 200 pounds (90.72 kg; approx. mixednews). In fact, scientists have calculated that it is enough to spray only 4 kg of this substance to kill all people on earth. Probably, an eagle would have acted much more humanely with a rattlesnake than this poison with a person.

4. The hottest substance

There are very few things in the world known to man to be hotter than the inside of a newly microwaved Hot Pocket, but this stuff seems set to break that record as well. Created by the collision of gold atoms at almost the speed of light, matter is called quark-gluon "soup" and it 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 in itself has features that you did not even suspect. Scientists say this stuff 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" spanned one trillionth of a centimeter and lasted for a trillionth of one trillionth of a second.

5. The most corrosive acid

Acid is a terrible substance, one of the scariest monsters in cinema was given acid blood to make it even more terrible than just a killing machine ("Alien"), so it is ingrained inside us that exposure to acid is very bad. If the "aliens" were filled with fluoride-antimonial acid, not only would they sink 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, poisonous fumes are released that can kill anyone in the room.

6 Most Explosive Explosives

In fact, this place is currently divided by two components: octogen and heptanitrocuban. Heptanitrocuban 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 propellants for rockets, and even for detonators of nuclear weapons. And the last one is the most terrifying, because despite how easily it happens in the movies, starting a fission/fusion reaction that results in bright, glowing mushroom-like nuclear clouds is not an easy task, but octogen does an excellent job of it.

7. The most radioactive substance

Speaking of radiation, it's worth mentioning that the glowing green "plutonium" rods shown in The Simpsons are just a fantasy. 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 when the substance was added to his food and died of cancer shortly thereafter. This is not something you want to joke about, the glow is caused by the air around the substance being affected by the radiation, and in fact the objects around it can get hot. When we say "radiation", we think, for example, of a nuclear reactor or an explosion, where the fission reaction actually takes place. This is only the release of ionized particles, and not out of control splitting of atoms.

8. The heaviest substance

If you thought that the heaviest substance on earth was diamonds, that was a good but inaccurate guess. This is a technically created diamond nanorod. It is actually a collection of nano-scale diamonds, with the lowest degree of compression and the heaviest substance known to man. It doesn't really exist, but which would be nice, since it means that someday we could cover our cars with this stuff and just get rid of it when the train hits (an unrealistic event). This substance was invented in Germany in 2005 and will probably be used to the same extent as industrial diamonds, except for the fact that the new substance is more resistant to wear than ordinary diamonds.

9. The most magnetic substance

If the inductor were a small black piece, then this would be the same substance. The substance, developed in 2010 from iron and nitrogen, has magnetic abilities that are 18% greater than the previous "record holder" and is so powerful that it has forced scientists to rethink how magnetism works. The person who discovered this substance distanced himself from his studies so that none of the other scientists could reproduce his work, as it was reported that a similar compound was being developed in Japan in the past in 1996, but other physicists were unable to reproduce it, therefore officially this substance was not accepted. It is unclear whether Japanese physicists should promise to make Sepuku under these circumstances. If this substance can be replicated, it could mean a new age of efficient electronics and magnetic motors, perhaps an order of magnitude more powerful.

10. The strongest superfluidity

Superfluidity is a state of matter (like a solid or gaseous) that occurs at extremely low temperatures, has high thermal conductivity (every ounce of this substance must be at exactly the same temperature) and no viscosity. Helium-2 is the most characteristic representative. The helium-2 cup will spontaneously rise and spill out of the container. Helium-2 will also seep through other solid materials, as the total lack of friction allows it to flow through other invisible openings through which ordinary helium (or water for this case) could not flow. "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 fast through "helium-2" that it travels in waves, like sound (actually known as "second sound"), rather than being dissipated, it simply moves from one molecule to another. By the way, the forces that govern the ability of "helium-2" to crawl along the wall are called the "third sound". You are unlikely to have anything more extreme than the substance that required the definition of 2 new types of sound.

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This basic list of ten elements is the "heaviest" in terms of density by one cubic centimeter. However, note that density is not mass, it simply indicates how tightly packed the mass of a body is.

Now that we understand this, let's take a look at the heaviest in the whole known to mankind universe.

10. Tantalum

Density per 1 cm³ - 16.67 g

Tantalum has an atomic number of 73. This blue-gray metal is very hard and also has a super high melting point.

9. Uranium (Uranium)


Density per 1 cm³ - 19.05 g

Discovered in 1789 by the German chemist Martin H. Klaprot, the metal did not become true uranium until almost a hundred years later, in 1841, thanks to the French chemist Eugène Melchior Peligot.

8. Wolframium


Density per 1 cm³ - 19.26 g

Tungsten exists in four different minerals and is also the heaviest of all the elements that play an important biological role.

7. Gold (Aurum)


Density per 1 cm³ - 19.29 g

They say money doesn't grow on trees, which can't be said about gold! Small traces of gold have been found on the leaves of eucalyptus trees.

6. Plutonium (Plutonium)


Density per 1 cm³ - 20.26 g

Plutonium showing a colorful oxidation state in aqueous solution, and can also spontaneously change oxidation state and color! This is a real chameleon among the elements.

5. Neptunium

Density per 1 cm³ - 20.47 g

Named after the planet Neptune, it was discovered by Professor Edwin McMillan in 1940. It also became the first discovered synthetic transuranium element from the actinide family.

4. Rhenium

Density per 1 cm³ - 21.01 g

Name of this chemical element comes from the Latin word "Rhenus", which means "Rhine". It was discovered by Walter Noddack in Germany in 1925.

3. Platinum (Platinum)

Density per 1 cm³ - 21.45 g

One of the most precious metals on this list (along with gold), and is used to make just about everything. As a strange fact: all the mined platinum (down to the last particle) could fit in a medium-sized living room! Not much, really. (Try putting all the gold in it.)

2. Iridium (Iridium)


Density per 1 cm³ - 22.56 g

Iridium was discovered in London in 1803 by the English chemist Smithson Tennant (Smithson Tennant) along with osmium: the elements were present in natural platinum as impurities. Yes, iridium was discovered purely by accident.

1. Osmium


Density per 1 cm³ - 22.59 g

There is nothing heavier (per cubic centimeter) than osmium. The name of this element comes from the ancient Greek word "osme", which means "smell", since the chemical reactions of its dissolution in acid or water are accompanied by an unpleasant, persistent odor.