The most expensive materials in the world
Contents:
What can be made fabulously expensive thing? The answer to this question can be found in our today's top ten, which contains the most expensive materials in the world.
• Without exception, all participants in the Top 10 are distinguished by their low prevalence on Earth and unique properties. In addition, some materials are obtained exclusively in the laboratory as a result of complex expensive manipulations.
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10. Gold ($56 per gram)
There is really little gold on Earth, its content in the earth's crust is 0,5-5 µg/kg. For all the time of its existence, mankind has managed to extract about 161 thousand tons of precious metal. If all this gold is fused together, then you can get a cube with an edge of about 20 meters.
9. Rhodium ($58 per gram)
The noble metal was discovered in 1803 in the course of work with native platinum. Every year, less than 30 tons of this material is mined in the world, which contributes to its high cost. There are metal deposits, South Africa, Canada and Colombia.
8. Platinum ($60 per gram)
Ancient Indian civilizations have used platinum since time immemorial. But Europeans got acquainted with this metal only in the middle of the 90th century. More than XNUMX% of the world's platinum reserves are concentrated in South Africa, Russia, the USA, Zimbabwe and China.
7. Rhino Horn ($110 per gram)
In a rhinoceros, the horn is not a bone, but a very densely fused bristle. In Chinese medicine, the horn is credited with miraculous properties and the ability to heal any ailments. Man's faith in the extraordinary possibilities of the horn cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of rhinos and more than once put the species on the brink of extinction.
6 Plutonium ($4000 per gram)
The fragile radioactive silver-white metal is used in the manufacture of nuclear weapons, fuel and as a source of energy for spacecraft. Plutonium is obtained from enriched and natural uranium. According to various estimates, the world reserves of plutonium are about 1200 tons.
5. Painite ($9000 per gram)
The rare mineral got its name in honor of the discoverer, the mineralogist Arthur Payne. Until 2005, there were only 25 known painite crystals worldwide. However, later deposits were discovered in Burma, but the explored reserves are also small.
4. Taaffeite ($20000 per gram or $4000 per carat)
A very rare expensive mineral, discovered in 1945 by Count Taaffy. The precious lilac stone is a million times rarer than diamonds. This material is used exclusively in jewelry.
3. Diamond ($55000 per gram)
The cut maximizes the natural brilliance of an outwardly unremarkable diamond, turning it into an incredibly valuable diamond. The cost of a diamond is estimated according to the “4 C” system: clarity (clarity), color (stone color), carat (weight), cut (cut quality).
2 California ($27 per gram)
The world's most expensive metal, a radioactive chemical element, was artificially obtained in 1950 at the University of California, Berkeley. The process of obtaining California is incredibly expensive. But the unique properties of the element make it possible to use it in neutron activation analysis, in the most complex experiments on the study of nuclear fission, and in radiation therapy of tumors.
1 Antimatter ($25 million per gram)
It is still difficult to assess the applied value of the most expensive material in the world, but scientists unambiguously believe that humanity simply must learn how to "mine" antimatter, forcing it to work for its own good. True, scientists have so far managed to "catch" a maximum of 309 antiprotons, which were held for only 15 minutes.
