The hardest and most durable metal. The hardest metal in the world. Who is behind them

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Metals accompany humanity for almost all of its adult life. It began, of course, with copper, since it is the most malleable material and available in nature.

Evolution helped people to develop significantly technically and over time they began to invent alloys that became stronger and stronger. In our time, experiments continue, and every year new strong alloys appear. Let's consider the best of them.

Titanium

Titanium is a highly durable material that is in high demand in many industries. The most common area of application is aviation. This is due to the successful combination of low weight and high strength. Also, the properties of titanium are high specific strength, resistance to physical influences, temperatures and corrosion.

Uranus

One of the most durable elements. Under natural conditions, it is a weak radioactive metal. It can be found in a free state, is very heavy, and is widely distributed throughout the world due to its paramagnetic properties. Uranium is flexible, has high malleability for forging and relative ductility.

Tungsten

The most refractory metal known today. It has a silvery-gray color and is a so-called transition element. The properties of tungsten allow it to resist chemical attack and be forgeable. The most famous field of application is used in incandescent lamps.

Rhenium

The metal is silvery white. In nature it can be found in its pure form, but there is also a molybdenum raw material, in which it is also found. A distinctive feature of rhenium is its refractoriness. It belongs to expensive metals, so its cost is also off scale. The main area of application is electronics.

Osmium

Osmium is a silvery white metal with a slight blue tint. It belongs to the platinum group and has an unusually great similarity with iridium in such properties as refractoriness, hardness and fragility.

Beryllium

This metal is an element with a light gray tint and high toxicity. With such unusual properties, the material has found wide application in the field of nuclear energy and laser technology. The high strength of beryllium allows it to be used in the manufacture of alloying alloys.

Chromium

The bluish white shade makes chrome stand out from the rest. It is resistant to alkalis and acids. In nature, it can be found in its pure form. Chromium is often used to create various alloys, which are later used in the field of medicine and chemical equipment.

It should be noted that ferrochrome is an alloy of chromium and iron. It is used in the manufacture of tools for cutting metals.

Tantalum

It is a silvery metal with high hardness and density. The lead tint on the metal is formed due to the appearance of an oxide film on the surface. Metal lends itself well to processing.

Today, tantalum is successfully used in the construction of nuclear reactors and metallurgical production.

Ruthenium

A silvery metal that belongs to the platinum group. It has an unusual composition: it includes the muscle tissue of living organisms. Another distinctive fact is that ruthenium is used as a catalyst for many chemical reactions.

Iridium

In our rating, this metal occupies the first line. It has a silvery white color. Iridium also belongs to the platinum group and has the highest hardness of the above metals. In the modern world, it is used very often. It is mainly added to other metals to improve their resistance to acidic environments. The metal itself is very expensive, since it is very poorly distributed in nature.

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Since childhood, we have known that the most durable metal is steel. Everything iron we associate with her.

Iron man, iron lady, steel character. When we say these phrases, we mean incredible strength, strength, hardness.

For a long time, steel was the main material in production and armament. But steel is not metal. More precisely, it is not entirely pure metal. This is with carbon, in which other metallic additives are present. By using additives, i.e. change its properties. After that, it is processed. Steel making is a whole science.

The strongest metal is obtained by introducing appropriate master alloys into the steel. It can be chromium, which also gives heat resistance, nickel, which makes steel hard and elastic, etc.

In some areas, steel began to replace aluminum. Time passed, the speed grew. Aluminum could not stand it either. I had to turn to a titan.

Yes, titanium is the most durable metal. To give the steel high strength characteristics, titanium was added to it.

It was discovered in the 18th century. Due to its fragility, it was impossible to apply it. Over time, having received pure titanium, engineers and designers became interested in its high specific strength, low density, corrosion resistance and high temperatures. Its physical strength is several times greater than that of iron.

Engineers began to add titanium to steel. The result is the most durable metal that has found application in an ultra-high temperature environment. At that time, no other alloy could withstand them.

If you imagine an airplane flying three times faster than you can imagine, how the cladding metal heats up. The sheet metal of the aircraft skin in such conditions heats up to + 3000C.

Today titanium is used unlimitedly in all areas of production. These are medicine, aircraft construction, and shipbuilding.

With all the evidence, we can say that in the near future the titan will have to move.

Scientists from the United States, in the laboratories of the University of Texas at Austin, discovered the thinnest and most durable material on Earth. They called it graphene.

Imagine a plate as thick as one atom. But such a plate is stronger than diamond and a hundred times better conductive to electric current than computer silicon chips.

Graphene is a material with damaging properties. He will soon leave the laboratories and rightfully take his place among the most durable materials in the universe.

It is even impossible to imagine that a few grams of graphene would be enough to cover a soccer field. This is metal. Pipes made of such material can be laid manually without the use of lifting and transport mechanisms.

Graphene, like diamond, is the purest carbon. Its flexibility is amazing. Such material is easy to bend, folds perfectly and rolls up perfectly.

Manufacturers of touch screens, solar panels, cell phones, and, finally, super-fast computer chips have already begun to look at it.

There are many metals in the world that are identical in terms of hardness, but not all of them are widely used in industry. There may be several reasons for this: rarity and therefore high cost, or radioactivity, which prevents its use for human needs. Among the hardest metals, there are 6 leaders who conquered the world with their characteristics.

The hardness of metals is usually measured on the Mohs scale. The method of measuring hardness is based on the assessment of resistance to scratches by other metals. Thus, it was determined that uranium and tungsten have the highest hardness. However, there are metals that are more used in various spheres of life, although their hardness is not the highest on the Mohs scale. Therefore, when revealing the topic of the hardest metals, it would be wrong not to mention the famous titanium, chromium, osmium and iridium.

When asked what is the hardest metal, any person studying chemistry and physics at school will answer: "Titanium". Of course, there are alloys and even nuggets in pure form that surpass it in strength. But among those used in everyday life and production, titanium has no equal.

Pure titanium was first obtained in 1925 and at the same time was declared the hardest metal on Earth. It immediately began to be actively used in completely different areas of production - from parts of missiles and air transport to dental implants. Several of its main properties have become the merit of such popularity of the metal: high mechanical strength, resistance to corrosion and high temperatures, and low density. On the Mohs scale of hardness of metals, titanium has a grade of 4.5, which is not the highest indicator. However, its popularity and involvement in various industries makes it the first hardest among the frequently used ones.

Titanium is the hardest metal commonly used in manufacturing

More details about the use of titanium in industry. This metal has a wide range of uses:

Aviation industry - aircraft glider parts, gas turbines, skins, load-bearing elements, landing gear parts, rivets, etc .;
Space technology - plating, details;
Shipbuilding - ship plating, pump and pipeline parts, navigational instruments, turbine engines, steam boilers;
Mechanical engineering - turbine condensers, pipes, wear-resistant elements;
Oil and gas industry - pipes for drilling, pumps, pressure vessels;
Automotive industry - in the mechanisms of valves and exhaust systems, transmission shafts, bolts, springs;
Construction - exterior and interior cladding of buildings, roofing materials, light fixtures and even monuments;
Medicine - surgical instruments, prostheses, implants, housings for cardiological devices;
Sports - sports equipment, travel accessories, bicycle parts.
Consumer goods - jewelry, decorative items, garden tools, watches, kitchen utensils, electronics cases and even bells, and are also added to paints, white, plastic and paper.

You can see that titanium is in demand in completely different areas of industry due to its physical and chemical properties. Although it is not the hardest metal in the world on the Mohs scale, products made from it are much stronger and lighter than steel, wear less and are more resistant to irritants.

Titanium is considered the hardest of the actively consumed metals.

The hardest metal in its natural form is considered to be a bluish-white metal - chrome. It was discovered back in the late 18th century and has been widely used in production ever since. On the Mohs scale, the hardness of chromium is 5. And for good reason - they can cut glass, and when combined with iron, it can even cut metal. Chromium is also actively used in metallurgy - it is added to steel to improve its physical properties. The range of uses for chromium is very diverse. It is used to make barrels of firearms, medical and chemical processing equipment, household items - kitchen utensils, metal pieces of furniture and even hulls of submarines.

Highest pure hardness - chrome

Chromium is used in various fields, for example, for the production of stainless steel, or for surface coating - chrome plating (technology, cars, parts, dishes). This metal is often used in the manufacture of firearm barrels. Also, this metal can often be found in the production of dyes and pigments. Another area of its use may seem surprising - it is the production of dietary supplements, and in the creation of technological equipment for chemical and medical laboratories, chromium cannot be dispensed with.

Osmium and iridium - representatives of platinum group metals, have almost the same density. In their pure form in nature, they are incredibly rare, and most often - in alloy with each other. Iridium by its nature has a high hardness, which is why it is difficult to metal work, both mechanical and chemical.

Osmium and Iridium have the highest density

Iridium has been actively used in industry relatively recently. Previously, it was used with caution, since its physicochemical characteristics were not fully understood. Now iridium is even used in the manufacture of jewelry (as inlays or in alloy with platinum), surgical instruments and parts for heart stimulants. In medicine, the metal is simply irreplaceable: its biological products can help to overcome oncology, and its irradiation with a radioactive isotope can stop the growth of cancer cells.

Two-thirds of the iridium mined in the world goes to the chemical industry, and the rest is distributed among other industries - spraying in the metallurgical industry, consumer goods (fountain pen elements, jewelry), medicine in the production of electrodes, elements of pacemakers and surgical instruments, as well as for improving the physicochemical and mechanical properties of metals.

Moss hardness of iridium - 5

Osmium is a silvery white metal with a bluish sheen. It was discovered a year later than iridium, and now it is often found in iron meteorites. In addition to its high hardness, osmium is distinguished by its high cost - 1 gram of pure metal is estimated at 10 thousand dollars. Another feature is its weight - 1 liter of molten osmium is equal to 10 liters of water. True, scientists have not yet found an application for this property.

Because of its rarity and high cost, osmium is only used where no other metal can be used. They never found widespread use for it, and there is no point in searching until the supply of metal becomes regular. Osmium is now used to make tools that require high precision. Products made from it hardly wear out and have significant durability.

The hardness index of osmium reaches 5.5

One of the most famous elements, and one of the hardest metals in the world, is uranium. It is a light gray metal with low radioactivity. Uranium is considered one of the heaviest metals - its specific gravity is 19 times that of water. It also has relative ductility, ductility and flexibility, and paramagnetic properties. On the Moss scale, the hardness of the metal is 6, which is considered a very high indicator.

Previously, uranium was almost never used, but was found only as ore waste in the extraction of other metals - radium and vanadium. Today, uranium is mined in deposits, the main sources are the Rocky Mountains of the United States, the Republic of the Congo, Canada and the Union of South Africa.

Despite the radioactivity, uranium is actively consumed by mankind. It is most in demand in the nuclear power industry - it is used as fuel for nuclear reactors. Also, uranium is used in the chemical industry and in geology - to determine the age of rocks.

Did not miss the incredible specific gravity and military engineering. Uranium is regularly used to create the cores of armor-piercing projectiles, which, due to their high strength, do an excellent job.

Uranium is the hardest metal, but it is radioactive

Topping our list of the hardest metals on Earth is brilliant silver-gray tungsten. On the Mohs scale, tungsten has a hardness of 6, like uranium, but, unlike the latter, it is not radioactive. Natural hardness, however, does not deprive it of flexibility, so tungsten is ideal for forging various metal products, and its resistance to high temperatures allows it to be used in lighting fixtures and electronics. The consumption of tungsten does not reach high volumes, and the main reason for this is its limited amount in the deposits.

Due to its high density, tungsten is widely used in weaponry for the production of heavyweights and artillery shells. In general, tungsten is actively used in military engineering - bullets, counterweights, ballistic missiles. The next most popular use of this metal is aviation. Engines, parts of electric vacuum devices are made from it. Tungsten cutting tools are used in construction. It is also an indispensable element in the production of varnishes and light-resistant paints, fire-resistant and waterproof fabrics.

Tungsten is considered the most refractory and durable

Having studied the properties and spheres of consumption of each metal, it is difficult to say unequivocally what is the hardest metal in the world, if we take into account not only the indicators of the Mohs scale. Each of the representatives has a number of advantages. For example, titanium, which does not have an ultra-high hardness, has firmly taken the first place among the most used metals. But uranium, the hardness of which reaches the highest mark among metals, is not so popular due to its weak radioactivity. And tungsten, which does not emit radiation and has the highest strength and very good compliance indicators, cannot be actively used due to limited resources.

Metal glass

Specialists of the California Institute of Technology have obtained a material that is unique in its properties - this is the strongest alloy to date - "metallic glass". The uniqueness of the new alloy is that metallic glass is made of metal, but has an internal glass structure. Today scientists are finding out what exactly gives the alloy such unusual properties and how they can be introduced into alloys made from less expensive materials.

The amorphous structure of glass, in contrast to the crystal structure of the metal, is not protected from crack propagation, which explains the fragility of the glass. The same disadvantage is possessed by metallic glasses, which are also quite easily destroyed, forming shear bands that grow into cracks.

Alloy properties

Experts from the California Institute have noticed that the appearance of a large number of shear bands gives a high resistance to the development of cracks, due to which the opposite effect is achieved: the material bends without collapsing. They created just such a material, the energy of the development of shear bands which is much less than the energy required to transform them into cracks. “By mixing the five elements, we achieved the fact that when cooled, the material“ does not know ”which structure to accept, and chooses an amorphous one,” said research participant R. Ritchie.

Metallic glass

The strongest alloy - metallic glass - consists of noble palladium, silicon, phosphorus, germanium with a small addition of silver (formula: Pd79Ag3.5P6Si9.5Ge2).

The new alloy has shown itself in tests as a combination of mutually exclusive properties - strength and endurance at a level not previously seen in any other material. As a result, the new metallic glass combines the hardness of glass with the crack resistance of metals. Moreover, the level of rigidity and strength is within reach.

Material use

For structural metal, this study has significantly pushed the boundaries of load tolerance. But, according to scientists' forecasts, the most durable alloy, due to the rarity and high cost of its main component, palladium, may not be found widely. However, the developers have reported the potential use of this material in medical implants (for example, for intramandibular prostheses), as well as as parts in the automotive or aerospace industry.

Metals include substances that have specific, characteristic properties. At the same time, they take into account high plasticity and malleability, as well as electrical conductivity and a number of other parameters. Which of them is the most durable metal, you can find out from the data below.

About metals in nature

The word “metal” came to the Russian language from German. Since the 16th century, it has been found in books, although quite rarely. Later, in the era of Peter I, they began to use it more often, and then the word had a generalizing meaning “ore, mineral, metal”. And only during the period of M.V. Lomonosov, these concepts were delineated.

In nature, metals are rarely found in pure form. Basically, they are part of various ores, and also form all kinds of compounds, such as sulfides, oxides, carbonates and others. In order to obtain pure metals, and this is very important for their use in the future, you need to isolate them and then purify them. If necessary, metals are alloyed - special impurities are added in order to change their properties. Currently, there is a division into ferrous metal ores, which include iron, and non-ferrous ones. Precious or noble metals include gold, platinum and silver.

There are metals even in the human body. Calcium, sodium, magnesium, copper, iron - this is the list of these substances that are found in the greatest amount.

Depending on the further use, metals are divided into groups:

Construction materials. They use both the metals themselves and their alloys significantly improved in properties. In this case, they value strength, impermeability to liquids and gases, and uniformity.
Materials for tools, most often referring to the working part. Tool steels and carbides are suitable for this.
Electrical materials. Such metals are used as good conductors of electricity. The most common ones are copper and aluminum. And also used as materials with high resistance - nichrome and others.

The toughest of metals

The strength of metals is called their ability to resist fracture under the influence of internal stresses that can arise when external forces affect these materials. It is also a property of a structure to maintain its characteristics for a certain time.

Many alloys are quite strong and resistant not only to physical, but also to chemical influences, they do not belong to pure metals. There are metals that can be called the most durable. Titanium, which melts at temperatures above 1 941 K (1660 ± 20 ° C), uranium, a radioactive metal, refractory tungsten, boiling at a temperature of at least 5 828 K (5555 ° C). As well as others that have unique properties and are necessary in the process of manufacturing parts, tools and items using the most modern technologies. The five most durable of them include metals, the properties of which are already known, they are widely used in various sectors of the national economy and are used in scientific experiments and developments.

It is found in molybdenum ores and copper raw materials. Has high hardness and density. Very refractory. Its strength cannot be reduced even under the influence of critical temperature changes. It is widely used in many electronic devices and technical means.

A rare earth metal with a silvery-gray tint and shiny, crystalline formations at the fractures. Interestingly, beryllium crystals taste somewhat sweet, which is why it was originally called "glucinium", which means "sweet". Thanks to this metal, a new technology has appeared, which is used in the synthesis of artificial stones - emeralds, aquamarines, for the needs of the jewelry industry. Beryllium was discovered while studying the properties of beryl, a semi-precious stone. In 1828 the German scientist F. Wöller obtained metallic beryllium. It does not interact with X-ray radiation, therefore, it is actively used to create special devices. In addition, beryllium alloys are used in the manufacture of neutron reflectors and moderators for installation in a nuclear reactor. Its refractory and anticorrosive properties and high thermal conductivity make it an indispensable element for creating alloys used in aircraft and aerospace industries.

This metal was discovered in the middle Urals. M.V. wrote about him. Lomonosov in his work "The first foundations of metallurgy" in 1763. It is very widespread, its most famous and extensive deposits are located in South Africa, Kazakhstan and Russia (Ural). The content of this metal in ores varies greatly. Its color is light blue, with a shimmer. In its pure form, it is very hard and works well enough. It serves as an important component for the creation of alloy steels, especially stainless steels, used in the electroplating and aerospace industries. Its alloy with iron, ferrochrome is necessary for the production of metal-cutting tools.

This metal is considered valuable, since its properties are only slightly lower than those of noble metals. It has strong resistance to various acids and does not corrode. Tantalum is used in various structures and compounds, for the manufacture of products of complex shapes and as a basis for the production of acetic and phosphoric acids. Metal is used in medicine because it can be combined with human tissues. The rocket industry needs a heat-resistant alloy of tantalum and tungsten, because it can withstand temperatures of 2,500 ° C. Tantalum capacitors are installed on radar devices, used in electronic systems as transmitters.

Iridium is considered one of the most durable metals in the world. Silver-colored metal, very hard. It belongs to the metals of the platinum group. It is difficult to process and, moreover, refractory. Iridium practically does not interact with caustic substances. It is used in many industries. Including in jewelry, medical and chemical industries. Significantly improves the resistance of tungsten, chromium and titanium compounds in relation to acidic environments. Pure iridium is not a toxic material, but some of its compounds can be.

Despite the fact that many metals have decent characteristics, it is rather difficult to pinpoint exactly which is the most durable metal in the world. For this, all their parameters are studied, in accordance with various analytical systems. But at present, all scientists claim that iridium confidently occupies the first place in strength.