Diamond is not the most compact element

2002/04/09 Carton Virto, Eider - Elhuyar Zientzia

• Materialak
• Fisika
• Kimika

Osmium, element of the platinum group, has gained one more title: besides being the densest natural element, it is a very high melting point and, according to the new measurements, the most compact natural element.

Researchers at the Livermore National Laboratory have measured the compressibility of osmium and have found that it is much lower than announced by theoretical calculations. So far theoretical calculations have been taken for good without physical evidence. Being a metal, the small compressibility of osmium has surprised researchers. Diamond atoms are united in a very compact and special way, but in metals the bond between atoms is weaker.

However, and being more resistant to plating, the diamond will not lose the title of the hardest element. The research has been published in the April issue of Physical Review Letters magazine.