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Asked by to Ben, Emily, Hattie, Jemma on 26 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by .
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Emily Hayward answered on 26 Jun 2014:
Fab question Issajewett00!
this is a really tough question as scientists are constantly trying to make new metals with imporved properties, and one of the properties they try to improve is the strength. In terms of the elements osmium is possibly the hardest metal, however often titanium can be thought of as being really hard, as for its weight it is…its very light so per gram is’s hardest, but for the size osmium is stronger. Carbon (although not a metal) is harder than these, particularly when its in the form of a diamond.
Scientists have tried mixing together different combinations of metals to form something called alloys…..these are often harderer than elements by themselves. The hardest alloy (and hardest metal) is a steel alloy which contains some iron and carbon.
The reasons for the strength is related to the bonding of the atms in the metal. If the bonds are very difficult to break then the metal is hard, and if they are easy to break the metal is soft. Things like the charge and size of the atoms determine the bond strength.
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Jemma Rowlandson answered on 26 Jun 2014:
Hi!
Hardness and strength of a metal are different things. Strength means how far you can bend a metal before it breaks. Hardness is how easily the metal can be scratched or punctured by an object.
The hardest metal (so the one that is hardest to scratch) is steel with carbon added to it. The carbon makes it much harder than normal steel. It does this by changing the structure of the steel, also the carbons and metal atoms interact with each other.
Although carbon steel is much harder than normal metals, it’s not as strong. The extra carbon means the steel does not bend as well, so it’s easier to break. Carbon steel also breaks down much more easily than other metals, so it’s the hardest metal but that doesn’t mean you want to use it for everything.
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