What is the heaviest metal in the world?

The use of metals in everyday life began at the dawn of human development. First of all, copper was mastered, which is available in nature and can be easily processed. Until now, archaeologists have found various copper items and household utensils during excavations. In the process of evolution, people gradually learned to combine various metals, obtaining increasingly durable alloys suitable for making tools, and later weapons. Nowadays, experiments continue, thanks to which it is possible to identify the strongest metals in the world.

10 Titan

Titanium is a highly durable hard metal that immediately attracted attention. The properties of titanium are: high specific strength; resistance to high temperatures; low density; corrosion resistance; mechanical and chemical resistance. Titanium is used in the military industry, aviation medicine, shipbuilding, and other areas of production.

9 Uranus

The most famous element, considered one of the strongest metals in the world, and under normal conditions is a weak radioactive metal. In nature, it is found both in a free state and in acidic sedimentary rocks. It is quite heavy, widely distributed everywhere and has paramagnetic properties, flexibility, malleability, and relative ductility. Uranium is used in many areas of production.

8 Tungsten

Known as the most refractory metal in existence, it is one of the strongest metals in the world. It is a solid transitional element of a shiny silver-gray color. It has high strength, excellent refractoriness, and resistance to chemical influences. Due to its properties, it can be forged and drawn into a thin thread. Known as tungsten filament.

7 Rhenium

Among the representatives of this group, it is considered a high-density transition metal with a silvery-white color. It occurs in nature in its pure form, but is found in molybdenum and copper raw materials. It is characterized by high hardness and density, and has excellent refractoriness. It has increased strength, which is not lost due to repeated temperature changes. Rhenium is an expensive metal and has a high cost. Used in modern technology and electronics.

6 Osmium

A shiny silver-white metal with a slightly bluish tint, it belongs to the platinum group and is considered one of the strongest metals in the world. Similar to iridium, it has a high atomic density, high strength and hardness. Since osmium is a platinum metal, it has properties similar to iridium: refractoriness, hardness, brittleness, resistance to mechanical stress, as well as to the influence of aggressive environments. It is widely used in surgery, electron microscopy, the chemical industry, rocketry, and electronic equipment.

5 Beryllium

It belongs to the group of metals and is a light gray element with relative hardness and high toxicity. Due to its unique properties, beryllium is used in a wide variety of production areas: nuclear energy; aerospace engineering; metallurgy; laser technology; nuclear energy. Due to its high hardness, beryllium is used in the production of alloying alloys and refractory materials.

4 Chrome

The next most durable metal in the world is chromium – a hard, highly durable metal of a bluish-white color, resistant to alkalis and acids. It occurs in nature in its pure form and is widely used in various branches of science, technology and production. Chromium is used to create various alloys that are used in the manufacture of medical and chemical processing equipment. When combined with iron, it forms an alloy called ferrochrome, which is used in the manufacture of metal-cutting tools.

3 Tantalum

Tantalum is one of the strongest metals in the world. It is a silvery metal with high hardness and atomic density. Due to the formation of an oxide film on its surface, it has a leaden tint. The distinctive properties of tantalum are high strength, refractoriness, resistance to corrosion, and resistance to aggressive environments. The metal is a fairly ductile metal and can be easily machined. Today tantalum is successfully used: in the chemical industry; during the construction of nuclear reactors; in metallurgical production; when creating heat-resistant alloys.

2 Ruthenium

Ruthenium is a silvery metal belonging to the platinum group. Its peculiarity is the presence of living organisms in the muscle tissue. Valuable properties of ruthenium are high strength, hardness, refractoriness, chemical resistance, and the ability to form complex compounds. Ruthenium is considered a catalyst for many chemical reactions and acts as a material for the manufacture of electrodes, contacts, and sharp tips.

1 Iridium

The most durable metal is iridium – silver-white, hard and refractory, which belongs to the platinum group. In nature, the high-strength element is extremely rare and is often combined with osmium. Due to its natural hardness, it is difficult to machine and is highly resistant to chemicals. Iridium reacts with great difficulty to exposure to halogens and sodium peroxide. This metal plays an important role in everyday life. It is added to titanium, chromium and tungsten to improve resistance to acidic environments, used in the manufacture of stationery, and used in jewelry to create jewelry. The cost of iridium remains high due to its limited presence in nature. We all love metals. Cars, bicycles, kitchen appliances, drink cans and many other things are all made of metal. Metal is the cornerstone of our life. But sometimes it can be very difficult. When we talk about the gravity of a particular metal, we usually mean its density, that is, the ratio of mass to occupied volume. Another way to measure the “weight” of metals is their relative atomic mass. The heaviest metals by relative atomic mass are plutonium and uranium. If you want to know which metal is the heaviest, if we consider its density, then we are happy to help you. Here are the top 10 heaviest metals on Earth, with their density per cubic cm.

10. Tantalum – 16,67 g/cm³

Tenth place in the ranking is occupied by a bluish-gray, very hard metal with an ultra-high melting point. Despite its hardness, it is ductile, like gold. Tantalum is an important component in many modern technologies. In particular, it is used to produce capacitors, which are used in computer equipment and mobile phones.

9. Uranium – 19,05 g/cm³

It is the heaviest element on Earth based on its atomic mass, 238,0289 g/mol. In its pure form, uranium is a silvery-brown heavy metal that is almost twice as dense as lead. Like plutonium, uranium is a necessary component for the creation of nuclear weapons.

8. Tungsten – 19,29 g/cm³

It is considered one of the densest elements in the world. In addition to its exceptional properties (high thermal and electrical conductivity, very high acid and abrasion resistance), tungsten also has three unique properties:

• After carbon, it has the highest melting point – plus 3422 ° C. And its boiling point is plus 5555 ° C, this temperature is approximately comparable to the temperature of the surface of the Sun.

• Accompanies tin ores, but prevents the smelting of tin, converting it into slag foam. This is why it got its name, which translated from German means “wolf cream”.
• Tungsten has the lowest coefficient of linear expansion when heated of any metal.

7. Gold – 19,29 g/cm³

Since ancient times, people have been buying, selling and even killing for this precious metal. Why, people, entire countries are engaged in buying gold. The leader of the states with the largest gold reserves at the moment is America. And the time is unlikely to come when there will be no need for gold.

They say that money doesn’t grow on trees, but gold does! A small amount of gold can be found in the leaves of eucalyptus if it is located on gold-bearing soil.

6. Plutonium – 19,80 g/cm³

The sixth heaviest metal in the world, it is one of the most needed components for the world’s nuclear powers. He is also a real chameleon in the world of elements. Plutonium exhibits a colorful oxidation state in aqueous solutions, with colors ranging from light purple and chocolate to light orange and green. The color depends on the oxidation state of plutonium and acid salts.

5. Neptunium – 20,47 g/cm³

This silvery metal, named after the planet Neptune, was discovered by chemist Edwin MacMillan and geochemist Philip Abelson in 1940. It is used to produce number six on our list, plutonium.

4. Rhenium – 21,01 g/cm³

The word “Rhenium” comes from the Latin Rhenus, which means “Rhine”. It is not difficult to guess that this metal was discovered in Germany. The honor of its discovery belongs to the German chemists Ida and Walter Noddack. It is the last element discovered to have a stable isotope.

Because of its very high melting point, rhenium (in the form of alloys with molybdenum, tungsten and other metals) is used to create components for rocketry and aviation.

3. Platinum – 21,40 g/cm³

One of the most precious metals on this list (besides Osmium and California-252), it is used in a variety of fields – from jewelry to the chemical industry and space technology. In Russia, the leader in the production of platinum metal is MMC Norilsk Nickel. About 25 tons of platinum are mined in the country annually.

2. Osmium – 22,61 g/cm³

The fragile and at the same time extremely hard metal is rarely used in its pure form. It is mainly mixed with other dense metals such as platinum to create very complex and expensive surgical equipment.

The name “osmium” comes from the ancient Greek word for “smell”. When an alkaline osmiridium alloy is dissolved in a liquid, a sharp amber appears, similar to the smell of chlorine or rotten radish.

Both osmium and iridium (first place in the ranking) weigh about twice as much as lead (11,34 g/cm³).

1. Iridium – 22,65 g/cm³ – the heaviest metal

This metal can rightfully claim to be the element with the highest density. However, there is still debate about which metal is heavier – iridium or osmium. The thing is that any impurity can reduce the density of these metals, and obtaining them in their pure form is a very difficult task.

The theoretical calculated density of iridium is 22,65 g/cm³. It is almost three times heavier than iron (7,8 g/cm³). And almost twice as heavy as the heaviest liquid metal – mercury (13,6 g/cm³).

Like osmium, iridium was discovered by the English chemist Smithson Tennant in the early 19th century. It is curious that Tennant did not find iridium on purpose, but by accident. It was found in an impurity left after platinum was dissolved.

Iridium is primarily used as a hardener for platinum alloys for equipment that must withstand high temperatures. It is processed from platinum ore and is a by-product of nickel mining.

The name “iridium” is translated from ancient Greek as “rainbow”. This is explained by the presence of salts of various colors in the metal.

The heaviest metal on the periodic table is very rarely found in terrestrial substances. Therefore, its high concentration in rock samples is a marker of their meteorite origin. About 10 thousand kilograms of iridium are mined worldwide every year. Its largest supplier is South Africa.