Since time immemorial, people have been actively using various metals. After studying their properties, the substances took their rightful place in the table of the famous D. Mendeleev. Until now, the disputes of scientists regarding the question of which metal should be given the title of the heaviest and densest in the world have not subsided. On the scales are two elements of the periodic table - iridium, as well as osmium. What are they interesting, read on.

For centuries, people have been studying the beneficial properties of the most common metals on the planet. Science stores the most information about gold, silver and copper. Over time, mankind got acquainted with iron, lighter metals - tin and lead. In the world of the Middle Ages, people actively used arsenic, and diseases were treated with mercury.

Thanks to rapid progress, today the heaviest and densest metals are considered not one element of the table, but two at once. Osmium (Os) is located at number 76, and iridium (Ir) at number 77, substances have the following density indicators:

• osmium is heavy due to its density of 22.62 g/cm³;
• iridium is not much lighter - 22.53 g / cm³.

Density refers to the physical properties of metals, it is the ratio of the mass of a substance to its volume. Theoretical calculations of the density of both elements have some errors, so both metals are now considered to be the heaviest.

For clarity, you can compare the weight of an ordinary cork with the weight of a cork made of the heaviest metal in the world. To balance scales with an osmium or iridium stopper, more than a hundred ordinary stoppers will be required.

History of discovery of metals

Both elements were discovered at the dawn of the 19th century by Smithson Tennant. Many researchers of that time were studying the properties of raw platinum, processing it with "royal vodka". Only Tennant was able to detect two chemicals in the resulting sediment:

• the sedimentary element with a persistent smell of chlorine, the scientist called osmium;
• a substance with a changing color is called iridium (rainbow).

Both elements were represented by a single alloy, which the scientist managed to separate. Further study of platinum nuggets was undertaken by the Russian chemist K. Klaus, who carefully studied the properties of sedimentary elements. The difficulty of determining the heaviest metal in the world lies in the low difference in their density, which is not a constant value.

Vibrant characteristics of the densest metals

Experimentally obtained substances are a powder, rather difficult to process, forging metals requires very high temperatures. The most common form of the commonwealth of iridium with osmium is an alloy of osmic iridium, which is mined in platinum deposits, gold beds.

Iron-rich meteorites are considered the most common place to find iridium. Native osmium is not found in the natural world, only in commonwealth with iridium and other components of the platinum group. The deposits often contain sulfur compounds with arsenic.

Features of the heaviest and most expensive metal in the world

Among the elements of Mendeleev's periodic table, osmium is considered the most expensive. The silvery metal with a bluish tint belongs to the platinum group of noble chemical compounds. The most dense, but very fragile metal does not lose its luster under the influence of high temperature indicators.

Characteristics

• Element #76 Osmium has an atomic mass of 190.23 amu;
• A substance molten at 3033°C will boil at 5012°C.
• The heaviest material has a density of 22.62 g/cm³;
• The structure of the crystal lattice has a hexagonal shape.

Despite the amazingly cold sheen of a silvery sheen, osmium is not suitable for jewelry production due to its extreme toxicity. To melt the jewelry, it would take a temperature like on the surface of the Sun, because the densest metal in the world is destroyed by mechanical action.

Turning into powder, osmium interacts with oxygen, reacts with sulfur, phosphorus, selenium, the reaction of the substance with aqua regia is very slow. Osmium does not possess magnetism, alloys tend to oxidize and form cluster compounds.

Where apply

The heaviest and incredibly dense metal has high wear resistance, so adding it to alloys significantly increases their strength. The use of osmium is mainly associated with the chemical industry. In addition, it is used for the following needs:

• manufacture of containers intended for storage of nuclear fusion waste;
• for the needs of rocket science, weapons production (warheads);
• in the watch industry for the manufacture of mechanisms of branded models;
• for the manufacture of surgical implants, parts of pacemakers.

Interestingly, the densest metal is considered the only element in the world that is not subject to the aggression of the “hellish” mixture of acids (nitric and hydrochloric). Aluminum combined with osmium becomes so ductile that it can be drawn without breaking.

Secrets of the rarest and densest metal in the world

The fact that iridium belongs to the platinum group endows it with the property of immunity to treatment with acids and their mixtures. In the world, iridium is obtained from anode slimes in copper-nickel production. After processing the sludge with aqua regia, the precipitate is calcined, resulting in the extraction of iridium.

Characteristics

The hardest silver-white metal has the following group of properties:

• element of the periodic table Iridium No. 77 has an atomic mass of 192.22 amu;
• a substance molten at 2466°C will boil at 4428°C;
• the density of molten iridium is within 19.39 g/cm³;
• element density at room temperature - 22.7 g / cm³;
• the crystal lattice of iridium is associated with a face-centered cube.

Heavy iridium does not change under the influence of ordinary air temperature. The result of calcination under the influence of heating at certain temperatures is the formation of polyvalent compounds. The powder of fresh sediment of iridium black lends itself to partial dissolution with aqua regia, as well as with a solution of chlorine.

Application area

Although Iridium is a precious metal, it is rarely used in jewelry. An element that is difficult to process is in great demand in the construction of roads, the production of automotive parts. Alloys with the densest metal that is not susceptible to oxidation are used for the following purposes:

• production of crucibles for laboratory experiments;
• production of special mouthpieces for glassblowers;
• covering the tips of nibs and refills of ballpoint pens;
• production of durable spark plugs for cars;

Alloys with iridium isotopes are used in welding production, in instrumentation, and for growing crystals as part of laser technology. The use of the heaviest metal has made it possible to carry out laser vision correction, crushing of kidney stones and other medical procedures.

Although Iridium is devoid of toxicity and is not dangerous to biological organisms, its dangerous isotope, hexafluoride, can be found in the natural environment. Inhalation of poisonous vapors leads to instant suffocation and death.

Places of natural occurrence

The deposits of the densest metal in the natural world, Iridium, are minuscule, much smaller than those of platinum. Presumably, the heaviest substance has shifted to the core of the planet, so the volume of industrial production of the element is small (about three tons per year). Iridium alloy products can last up to 200 years, jewelry will become more durable.

Nuggets of the heaviest metal with an unpleasant odor, Osmium, cannot be found in nature. In the composition of minerals, traces of osmic iridium can be found along with platinum and palladium, ruthenium. Deposits of osmic iridium have been explored in Siberia (Russia), some states of America (Alaska and California), Australia and South Africa.

If deposits of platinum are found, it will be possible to isolate osmium with iridium to strengthen and strengthen the physical or chemical compounds of various products.

Among the substances always try to select those that have the most extreme degree of a particular property. People have always been attracted to the hardest materials, the lightest or heaviest, light and refractory. We invented the concept of an ideal gas and an ideal black body, and then tried to find natural analogues as close as possible to these models. As a result, man managed to find or create amazing substances.

1. The blackest substance

This substance is capable of absorbing up to 99.9% of light, an almost perfect black body. It was obtained from specially connected layers of carbon nanotubes. The surface of the resulting material is rough and practically does not reflect light. The areas of application for such a substance are extensive - from superconducting systems to improving the properties of optical systems. For example, through the use of such a material, it would be possible to raise the quality of telescopes and greatly increase the efficiency of solar batteries.

2. The most combustible substance

Few people have not heard of napalm. But this is only one of the representatives of the class of strong combustible substances. These include styrofoam, and especially chlorine trifluoride. This strongest oxidizing agent can ignite even glass; it reacts violently with almost all inorganic and organic compounds. There are cases when a spilled ton of chlorine trifluoride as a result of a fire burned through the concrete coating of the site and another meter-long gravel-sand cushion deep into 30 centimeters. There were attempts to use the substance as a military poison or rocket fuel, but they were abandoned due to too much danger.

3. Poisonous substance

The strongest poison on earth is also one of the most popular cosmetics. We are talking about botulinum toxins, in cosmetology used under the name Botox. This substance is a product of the vital activity of the bacteria Clostridium botulinum and has the highest molecular weight among proteins. This is the reason for its properties as the most powerful poisonous substance. Enough 0.00002 mg.min / l of dry matter to make the affected area deadly for humans for 12 hours. In addition, this substance is perfectly absorbed from the mucous membranes and causes severe neurological symptoms.

4. The hottest substance

In the depths of the stars, nuclear fires burn, reaching unimaginable temperatures. But man managed to get closer to these figures, having received quark-gluon "soup". This substance has a temperature of 4 trillion degrees Celsius, which is 250,000 times hotter than the sun. It was obtained by colliding gold atoms at almost the speed of light, as a result of which neutrons and protons were melted. True, this substance existed for only a trillionth of one trillionth of a second and occupied one trillionth of a centimeter.

In this nomination, fluoride-antimony acid becomes the record holder. It is 21,019 times more corrosive than sulfuric acid and can melt through glass and explode when water is added. In addition, it emits deadly toxic fumes.

6. The most explosive substance

HMX is the most powerful explosive, moreover, resistant to high temperatures. This is what makes it indispensable in military affairs - for creating shaped charges, plastics, powerful explosives, fillers for fuses of nuclear charges. HMX is also used for peaceful purposes, for example, when drilling high-temperature gas and oil wells, and also as a component of solid rocket fuel. HMX also has an analogue of heptanitrocuban, which has even greater explosive power, but is also more expensive, and therefore is used more in laboratory conditions.

7. The most radioactive substance

This substance does not have stable isotopes in nature, while generating a huge amount of radioactive radiation. One of the isotopes, "polonium-210", is used to create very light, compact and at the same time very powerful neutron sources. In addition, polonium is used in alloys with certain metals to create heat sources for nuclear installations, in particular, such devices are used in space. At the same time, due to the short half-life of this isotope, it is a highly toxic substance that can cause severe radiation sickness.

8. The heaviest substance

In 2005, German scientists designed a substance in the form of a diamond nanorod. It is a set of diamonds at the nanoscale. Such a substance has the lowest degree of compression and the highest specific gravity known to mankind. In addition, a coating of such a material will have great wear resistance.

9. The strongest magnetic substance

Another creation of specialists from laboratories. It was obtained on the basis of iron and nitrogen in 2010. For now, the details are kept secret, since the previous substance in 1996 could not be reproduced again. But it is already known that the record holder has 18% stronger magnetic properties than the closest analogue. If this substance becomes available on an industrial scale, then we can expect the appearance of the most powerful electromagnetic engines.

10. The strongest superfluidity

Helium II has a high thermal conductivity and a complete lack of viscosity at extremely low temperatures, that is, it exhibits the property of superfluidity. It is able to seep through solid materials, spontaneously pour out of any container. This substance can become an ideal thermal conductor in which heat moves more like a wave and does not dissipate.

Used: Out of town

The most expensive metal in the world and the densest substance on the planet

Posted on 02/01/2012 (valid until 02/01/2013)

In nature, there are a lot of different metals and precious stones, the cost of which is very high for most of the inhabitants of the planet. About precious stones, people more or less have an idea which are the most expensive, which are most valued. But, that's how things are with metals, most people other than gold and platinum are no longer aware of expensive metals. What is the most expensive metal in the world? The curiosity of people has no boundaries, they are looking for answers to the most interesting questions. Finding out the cost of the most expensive metal on the planet is not a problem, since this is not classified information.

Most likely, this is the first time you hear this name - the Osmium isotope 1870s. This chemical element is the most expensive metal in the world. You could see the name of such a chemical element in the periodic table at number 76. Osmium isotope is the densest substance on the planet. Its density is 22.61 g/cm 3 . Under normal standard conditions, osmium is silvery in color and has a pungent odor. This metal belongs to the group of platinum metals. This metal is used in the manufacture of nuclear weapons, pharmaceuticals, aerospace, and sometimes in jewelry.

But, now the main question is - how much is the most expensive metal in the world? Now its cost on the black market is $ 200,000 per 1 gram. Since obtaining the 1870s isotope is a very difficult task, few people will take up this matter. Earlier, in 2004, Kazakhstan officially offered one gram of pure Osmium isotope for $10,000. Kazakhstan at one time became the first expert of expensive metal, no other country put this metal up for sale.

Osmium was discovered by the English chemist Smithson Tennant in 1804. Osmium is obtained from enriched raw materials of platinum metals by calcining this concentrate in air at temperatures of 800-900 degrees Celsius. And until now, scientists replenish the periodic table, getting elements with incredible properties.

Many will say that there is even more expensive metal - this is California 252. The price of California 252 is $ 6,500,000 per 1 gram. But, it is worth considering the fact that the world's supply of this metal is only a few grams. So, as it is produced only at two reactors in Russia and the USA at 20-40 micrograms per year. But, its properties are very impressive: 1 microgram of California produces more than 2 million neutrons per second. In recent years, this metal has been used in medicine as a point source of neutrons for local treatment of malignant tumors.

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 fact is that the conditions of outer space are very different from those of 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.

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 that operate 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 it perfectly.
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 that is being affected by the radiation, and indeed 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 quite handy, as it means that someday we could cover our cars with this material and just get rid of it when a train collision occurs (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 dissipates, it just 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.