Hardness
Hardness is resistance to scratching. Diamonds were long thought to be the hardest natural material but scientists have discovered a substance called lonsdaleite that's harder. Both are made of carbon where diamonds have a cubic structure and lonsdaleite has a hexagonal structure. The following are very hard materials.Ceramics such as boron carbide | Chemically strengthened glass used in smart phones |
Chromium | Corundum |
Diamonds | Emerald |
Hardened steel | Lonsdaleite |
Moissanite | Quartz |
Ruby | Sapphire |
Spinel | Teeth |
Tungsten carbide |
Toughness
Toughness is the amount of energy a material can absorb before rupturing. In some cases, soft materials such as rubber are stronger in this regard than very hard materials such as diamond. For example, it is possible to shatter a diamond with a hammer but rubber is difficult to damage in this way. The following are examples of tough materials.Alloy of chromium, cobalt and nickel | Aluminum |
Carbon fiber | Carbon nanotubes |
Glass fiber reinforced polymer | Kevlar |
Natural rubber | Nylon plastics |
Polycarbonate | Spider silk |
Titanium alloys |
Compressive Strength
Compressive strength is the ability to withstand weight pushing down on a material such as the weight of a building pushing down on a foundation.Basalt | Brass |
Brick | Bronze |
Carbon nanotubes | Ceramics |
Concrete | Corundum |
Diamond | Glass |
Granite | Graphene |
Iron alloys and steel | Marble |
Titanium alloys | Tungsten alloys |
Tensile Strength
Tensile strength is the ability to resist forces that are trying to pull a material apart. These would make a good rope for a tug of war.Bamboo | Boron fiber |
Carbon fiber | Carbon fiber reinforced polymer |
Carbon nanotube | Diamond |
Glass fiber reinforced polymer | Graphene |
Kevlar | Metallic glasses |
Silicon carbide | Spider silk |
Steel | Thermoplastic polyethylene polymers |
Titanium alloys | Tungsten alloys |
Strongest Materials
If you look at the overall properties of materials considering hardness, toughness, compressive and tensile strength the following materials stand out as very strong overall.Boron nitride nanotubes | Carbon nanotubes |
Wurtzite boron nitride - a ceramic material |
Generally Strong Everyday Things
Everyday things that are somewhat strong include products with high stress applications such as the mast of a sailboat. It is common for everyday things to be strong in one particularly way. For example, ceramic tiles that are very hard but aren't tough such that they can easily break if dropped.Aircraft fuselages | Aircraft landing gear |
Aircraft stabilizers and rudders | Aircraft tires |
Aircraft wings | Aluminum |
Amusement park attractions | Ash wood |
Automotive parts | Bamboo |
Baseball bats | Bathtubs |
Bicycle frames | Boat parts |
Bone | Brass |
Bronze | Carbon fiber |
Carbon steel | Ceramic tiles |
Chains | Chairs |
Chromium | Climbing carabiners |
Climbing ropes | Coconut fiber |
Composite materials | Concrete |
Concrete foundations | Construction brackets and braces |
Copper | Diamonds and gemstones |
Drill bits | Emeralds |
Engine components | Fishing rods |
Flooring | Golf clubs |
Granite | Helmets |
Industrial fasteners | Industrial tires |
Iron | Jade |
Jewelry such as rings | Kevlar vests |
Kitchen ceramics | Kitchen counters |
Ladders | Mahogany |
Manganese | Maple wood |
Marble | Metal alloys |
Nails | Nickel |
Nuts and bolts | Nylon |
Oak | Padlocks |
Petrified wood | Plastics |
Playground equipment | Pots and pans |
Protective fabrics | Protective gear |
Quartz | Rocks |
Rubies | Safes |
Safety glass | Sailboat masts |
Sapphires | Saw blades |
Security doors | Shells |
Ship hulls | Ship rudders |
Skis | Snowboards |
Spider silk | Stainless steel |
Steel beams | Steel cables |
Teeth | Tennis rackets |
Titanium | Tools |
Tortoise shells | Tumblers |
Tungsten | Walnut wood |
Watches | Weightlifting bars |
Weights | Wood |
Wood furniture | Wooden beams and trusses |
Work gloves |
