What's the hardest metal/alloy/whatever in this world?

Answer 1

as others have said diamond is the hardest natural material and diamond nanorods are the hardest period but if you are looking for a metal it gets more complicated.

Modern high speed steels can get above a rockwell C (if you are going to try to correct me make sure to check the units, a Rockwell C of 70 is far larger then a Rockwell A of 80 for example) hardness of 70, and Osmium as what might be the hardest pure metal can be 64 or more.

Some people said Titanium and frankly that proves a great ignornace because:

a) pure titanium is very soft and not used for much of anything, like nearly all metals titanium can be greatly improved with the right additives.

b) No titanium alloy that I'm aware of can be hardened much above a Rockwell C of 50. And at that hardness Titanium is very brittle. Most titanium alloys will be used at 40 or so, so they can bend and stretch as needed for much greater impact strength.

Titanium is a good metal for many things...but it is often used for many things where it makes no sense because people just think it's cool to use the metal the space shuttle is made of.

Titanium alloys can be great for air and space craft because it won't corrode and are strong for their weight...but things like titanium razor blades and gulf heads are just silly...

ALSO:

The Mohs scale of hardness is not very good, it came about before any measure of absolute hardness had been invented so it was just based on what could scratch what. Things like Knoop, birnell, and the Rockwell scales are what is normally used now. The different Rockwell scales fit different ranges, with Rockwell C being the most common for measuring very hard alloys.

pgpanikkar2003, I applaud you for actually looking it up rather then just spitting out an answer but I think your book might be out of date, Tool steels have continued to advance since then.

Answer 2

A diamond is Carbon the hardest, only one in the world ranked 10 on the mohs scale; however, Titanium is the hardest metal. Hardest alloy is Steel, an alloy from iron.

Titanium is known as a transition metal on the periodic table of elements denoted by the symbol Ti. It is a lightweight, silver-gray material with an atomic number of 22 and an atomic weight of 47.90. It has a density of 4510 kg/m3, which is somewhere between the densities of aluminum and stainless steel. It has a melting point of roughly 3,032°F (1,667°C) and a boiling point of 5,948°F (3,287 C). It behaves chemically similar to zirconium and silicon. It has excellent corrosion resistance and a high strength to weight ratio.

Titanium is the fourth most abundant metal making up about 0.62% of the earth's crust. Rarely found in its pure form, titanium typically exists in minerals such as anatase, brookite, ilmenite, leucoxene, perovskite, rutile, and sphene. While titanium is relatively abundant, it continues to be expensive because it is difficult to isolate. The leading producers of titanium concentrates include Australia, Canada, China, India, Norway, South Africa, and Ukraine. In the United States, the primary titanium producing states are Florida, Idaho, New Jersey, New York, and Virginia.

Thousands of titanium alloys have been developed and these can be grouped into four main categories. Their properties depend on their basic chemical structure and the way they are manipulated during manufacture. Some elements used for making alloys include aluminum, molybdenum, cobalt, zirconium, tin, and vanadium. Alpha phase alloys have the lowest strength but are formable and weldable. Alpha plus beta alloys have high strength. Near alpha alloys have medium strength but have good creep resistance. Beta phase alloys have the highest strength of any titanium alloys but they also lack ductility

Answer 3

Hardness is the resistance of a metal to the penetration of another harder body which does not receive a permanent set.It is necessry to distinguish between a)Macrohardness and b) Microhardness.-hardness in microscopically small volumes.Brinellhardness test ,Rock well test and Vickers test are some standard tests for hardness. But hardness of a metal or alloy depends also on its teperature, time of load application etc
Hence , when we speak of hardness, conditions at which the metal or alloy is present , is to be defined.In general,as a lay man we say that diomond is the hardest material.
" The hardest known metal alloy, and the hardest known metal in general, is a type of carbon steel, Alloy 1090. With a tensile strength of .84 GPa (122,000 psi) and a yield strength of .64 GPa (67,000 psi), carbon steel is surpassed in hardness only by very hard nonmetals, such as ruby, diamond, or aggregated diamond nanorods. The best high-carbon steels rate an 8 on the Mohs scale of hardness, relative to ruby at 9 and diamond at 10"


If you are interested to know more about hardening and heat treatment,please refer tothe book "Engineering Physical Metallurgy " by - Proff:E.Y .Lakhtin

Answer 4

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
What's the hardest metal/alloy/whatever in this world?

Answer 5

Hardest Metals

Answer 6

Diamond is the hardest known natural material and the third-hardest known material after aggregated diamond nanorods and ultrahard fullerite. It can be scratched only by other diamonds, Borazon, ultrahard fullerite, or aggregated diamond nanorods.

Ultrahard fullerite (C60) is a form of carbon which has been found to be harder than diamond, and which can be used to create even harder materials, such as aggregated diamond nanorods. It, therefore has the once-unheard-of honor of being higher than a 10 on the Mohs hardness scale.

Ultrahard fullerite has a hardness value of 310 GPa, though the actual value may range ±40 GPa.

Answer 7

Diamond, which is crystal carbon.
It's the only one to rate 10 on Moh's hardness scale.

===== Edit added =====



Very Hard substances:

1 diamond, crystalline Carbon - C (mohs = 10)
2 aggregated diamond nanorods
3 ultrahard fullerite
4 borazon (GE TM) BN boron nitride
5 boron carbide B4C extremely hard

Also:

silicon nitride
silicon carbide
tungsten carbide:
1. monotungsten carbide WC (mohs = 9)
2. ditungsten carbide W2C (mohs = 9)
titanium carbide TiC (mohs 9 +-)

See: mohs hardness scale

Answer 8

Answer is diamond. Diamond is the hardest known natural material and the third-hardest known material after aggregated diamond nanorods and ultrahard fullerite. Its hardness and high dispersion of light make it useful for industrial applications and jewelry.

The hardest diamonds in the world are from the New England area in New South Wales, Australia. These diamonds are generally small, perfect to semiperfect octahedra, and are used to polish other diamonds. Their hardness is considered to be a product of the crystal growth form, which is single stage growth crystal. Most other diamonds show more evidence of multiple growth stages, which produce inclusions, flaws, and defect planes in the crystal lattice all of which affect their hardness.[8]

The hardness of diamonds contributes to its suitability as a gemstone. Because it can only be scratched by other diamonds, it maintains its polish extremely well, keeping its luster over long periods of time. Unlike many other gems, it is well-suited to daily wear because of its resistance to scratching—perhaps contributing to its popularity as the preferred gem in an engagement ring or wedding ring, which are often worn every day. Industrial use of diamonds has historically been associated with their hardness; this property makes diamond the ideal material for cutting and grinding tools. As the hardest known naturally occurring material, diamond can be used to polish, cut, or wear away any material, including other diamonds.

Answer 9

well..titanium isnt an alloy either. It s probably wurtzite(hexagonal boron nitride), londesaite(similiar to diamonds) , or Borazon, the cubic equivalent of wurtzite. Borazon is it s commercial name. Hhowever, nobody has ever acheived large amounts of either for sufficient tests.
:-)

Answer 10

the hardest mineral on the earth is a diamond. it is given a ten on moh's scale (in all actuallity it should be given a 27) the next closest is a 6 or 7