Top 7 Strongest Material On Earth

You might be asking yourself this question each day 'What is the strongest material on earth?'. Some of you will think that the answer will be precious diamonds. It cannot be denied that diamonds have the reputation of being super durable compared to other things, but it is still not the strongest one in existence.

Based on their strength, diamonds are only worthy to be ranked 7th on this list. So what are the strongest natural materials or mankind's creation that has been found or created as of now?

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7. Diamond

Diamonds are not the strongest material on Earth. However, diamonds are still known to be a highly resistant natural material that is available. It can be found naturally in the depth of the earth making it a popular choice.

Diamonds are formed as a result of the fusion of carbon elements that formed solids known as diamond cubicles. This process occurs for a very long time until a very dense shape is formed. Pure diamonds have a unique shape and size, not to mention their high price tag due to their age.

For your information, the diamonds that are commonly used as jewelry will have an age of 1 to 3 billion years. I guess that might be the reason why the power of the diamond is forever.

6. Lonsdaleite Diamond

Lonsdaleite or hexagonal diamond comprises an organized crystal structure that forms this unique diamond shape. It was found in 1967 from pieces of a meteor that fell around Diablo Valley, Arizona, United States of America.

The strength of lonsdaleite if it was compared to regular diamonds will be 58% more strength placing this particular diamond on the top list of strongest diamonds out there.

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Lonsdaleite got its name in commemoration of a researcher named Kathleen Lonsdale from Ireland that has contributed a lot to the synthesis of diamonds. Not just that, Lonsdale was also among the earliest researchers that uses the X-ray to study crystal molecules.

5. Boron Nitride Nanotubes

Found in 1995 as a result of research on boron nitride materials, Boron Nitride Nanotubes or BNNT is a man-made micro-sized material that has a unique cylindrical shape giving it that respective name.

It was made using the same technique to produce another type of material, carbon nanotubes which will be discussed later in this article. BNNT is produced by the process of arrangement of the boron and nitrogen atoms forming a hexagonal bond.

This unique structure makes BNNT have electrical barrier potential, heat resistance up to 900 degrees Celcius as well as capability to absorb important radiation whether it is strong or light.

BNNT was made commercially at manufacturer factories and it has the potential to be used in mining industries, medicine, and the aeronautical field. However, the tedious process of making it will also mean high production costs as 1kg of BNNT produced will cost roughly $900 million.

4. UHMWPE

UHMWPE or Ultra-High-Molecular-Weight-Polyethylene is a type of polymer that has very high durable strength compared to other regular polymers. Due to its durability and high flexibility, UHMWPE has become a popular material choice in moving prosthetics components.

This will help the less fortunate individual to get prosthetics that will last longer. This material was found in the 1960s by two researchers named Penning and Kiel and improvements to the process of making the UHMWPE were successfully done to upgrade his creation.

Aside from the medicinal field, UHMWPE can also be used as a shield for the body and vehicles, safety gloves, hiking equipment, lines of fishing rods, the sail of ships, and much more commercial use.

3. Amorphous Glass

The glass that we commonly use is considered very fragile. But there is another type of glass known as amorphous glass that replaces what is currently known as the strongest glass yet since this one is enforced of steel.

Due to that amorphous glass is also known as metal glass as it has twice or even thrice the strength of other metal alloys. The uniqueness of this material is not only in its strength but also in how light it is.

On top of that, this glass can also be formed and bent according to the shape needed making its usage very wide as it can be used to make car frames and bodies, airplanes, ships and even building structures.

Other uses of metal glass included heat insulators, soundproofing, and protection against rust for house panels making this the most important material of the future. This amorphous glass was first made in 1960 by two intelligent researchers from the California Institute of Technology.

The drawback of this material being used widely might be due to the high cost of production. As of now, a type of metal glass made from the combination of glass and micro-alloy phosphorus, silicon, germanium, silver, and palladium is the strongest metal glass ever made.

2. Carbon Nanotubes

Previously we have mentioned the BNNT materials on the top 5 of this list, another material with similar properties but much stronger will be carbon nanotubes(CNTS). It is formed from carbon structures shaped in a hexagonal manner.

CNTS has several unique features making it more valuable than metal, with a strength of more than 400 times the normal metal while having a light weight of only 1/6 of metal. CNTS is also a good heat conductor as well as having immense durability towards changes in its surroundings.

Despite being discovered rather early, the works of a Japanese physician named Sumio Iijima which were published in 1991 were believed to be the main reason behind the development of research on this material.

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Iijima's research managed to explain in detail the true benefits of carbon nanotubes and managed to prove what it truly means to be the second strongest material on earth as of now.

1. Graphene

Graphene is a base material of a single atom made from carbon making the primary structure of the formation of CNTS as stated above. Different from CNTS, graphene in its original form is characterized as being two-dimensional now and is considered the thinnest but strongest material to ever be found or created.

The discovery of graphene starts from a long line of research on graphite materials allowing graphene to be isolated and identified in 2004. It all happened during an experiment that has been conducted by two researchers, Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov from the University of Manchester.

This finding has allowed more studies to be conducted to develop more materials based on graphene to the extent that graphene is now being used widely in various industries. Graphene now is being utilized in many things mainly as charge storage for batteries and capacitors, electroplating, sensors, solar panels, and many other products.

Following this huge contribution to the development of graphene, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010. Novoselov became one of the youngest individuals to ever win such an award at the age of 35 years old and now teaching at the National University of Singapore as one of the lecturers there.

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