What's The Most Expensive Material In The World?

Forget diamond , gold and plutonium , because scientists at Oxford University have create a material with a price tag that dwarfs all of the okay substances money can buy . At a late auction bridge , 200 micrograms of the material fetched £ 22,000 ( $ 33,000 ) , which works out at around $ 4.2 billion per oz. .

The material in question dwell of molecular social unit calledendohedral fullerenes . These are spheres of atomic number 6 atom , inside which are housed other molecules . Though several magnetic variation of endohedral fullerene have antecedently been make up , the specific types created by the Oxford - based team are think to be of particular value in the building of atomic clocks and GPS gadget . More specifically , these include N@C60and N@C70 , which consist of a nitrogen atom cage in within a carbon sphere made up of 60 and 70 atoms severally .

nuclear clockshave traditionally been constructed using cesium atoms , which bear 55 negatron arrange in several orbits around the cell nucleus of the atom . As negatron switch between different orbits , they release receiving set waves with a very specific and unchangeable relative frequency . Since this frequency is always exactly the same every clock time the electrons make this switch , it ply a dependable and   constant benchmark for measuring fourth dimension , and is more accurate than the rotation of the Earth or the golf shot of a pendulum , both of which can vary slightly .

However , the team behind these endohedral fullerenes believe their cloth can be used to make an even more true atomic clock . At the same time , they claim it can help to develop GPS machine which can track fix to within one millimeter . This could have major implications for the automobile industry , enabling the fabrication of ego - drive cars which are capable of monitoring their own movement with cracking precision .

utter to theTelegraph , Dr. Kyriakos Porfyrakis , who founded Oxford University ’s caller Designer Carbon Materials which create the structure , say they could be used to manufacture a “ miniaturized nuclear clock that you could carry around in your smartphone . ” This would commemorate a major improvement on current translation of the atomic clock , which is the sizing of a belittled room .

However , while endohedral fullerenes may be the most expensive material in cosmos in today ’s market ,   Forbes has estimated thatantimatter –   which may one day be used to fuel spaceships   –   could be up to$2,800 trillion per ounce .