why is the densest element so brittle?

Question

the two densest elements are in scientific competition with each other as to which one is actually the densest. What gives?

thank-you to the chemist...the crystal structures came pretty close to what I was looking for...after a little research...the hardness is there..(density)..but supply is scarce and large quantities are expensive...but structural integrity (brittleness) is present because of the crystal compounds and their structure...and I'll keep your choice a secret...

Fickle can be used maybe more appropriately when ascertaining that type of question..thanks for the well written response

Answer 1

explorer4x4guy,

I think your wording is confusing other answerers.... "brittle" is a material property meaning that the material will break easily wihtout smearing out the structure. I think you mean to ask something like "Why is the densist element so FICKLE?", or "Why is the densist element so ambiguous/difficult to determine?"

If this is what you mean, the answer is simply that their densities are very close to each other... close enough that the difference in density between the two is approximately the resolution of the methods used to determine density. It doesn't mean that there is no densist element... it just means that the probability distributions of their densities overlap enough that we can't be 100% sure which one it is. But just between you and me... I think it's osmium. : )

Answer 2

Density is a measure of the mass per unit volume. It is not a measure of hardness.
I think of brittleness as a measure of how reluctant the atoms are to 'stick' to each other. In dense elements, the atoms are so heavy (and therefore probably pull themselves close in) that they don't have any 'energy' left to stick together (just my idea on how to grasp the idea).

Answer 3

brittleness comes from the rigidity of the crystal structure. When the crystal matrix is stiff with no flexibility, the result will be brittle

Answer 4

Osmium