Not just gold and diamonds: these are the 10 most expensive materials in the world – the ranking

Let's find out what the 10 most expensive materials in the world are, even if antimatter has incalculable costs

For precious materials, gold and diamonds are most commonly the first to appear. However, there exist materials much scarcer and more expensive, with value attached to their scarcity, utility in industry or science, and extraction or manufacturing difficulty. Here are the 10 most expensive materials in the world.

Antimatter – Incalculable costs

The costliest and rarest material in the world is antimatter. Particle accelerators and a great amount of energy are required to produce it, for millions of dollars per milligram. Antimatter can potentially be employed as an energy source or as a method of interstellar travel, but currently production is experimental. It costs approximately $25 million to create a milligram of positrons, and a gram would be costing astronomical figures.

Californium – $25-$27 million per gram

Californium is an extremely rare chemical element that is not easy to synthesize. Californium was found in 1950 and possesses multiple applications in nuclear, medicinal, and industrial purposes, yet its production is limited to only a few labs across the world.

Diamond – $55,000 per gram

Diamond is the most widely recognized precious gem in the globe, cherished because of its durability and luster. It crystallizes at conditions of high pressure and heat beneath the earth and is found extensively in Africa, Russia, and Canada.

Tritium – $30,000 per gram

This radioactive gas is used in special lighting devices, for instance, the faces of glow-in-the-dark watches and in some nuclear applications. It is manufactured in complex processes by sophisticated technologies.

Taaffeite – $20,000 per gram

This stone, discovered by accident in 1945, is a million times rarer than a diamond. It occurs in pink to purple color and is very difficult to find.

Painite – $9,000 per gram

One of the earth’s most rare stones, painite was not found until the 1950s. It is red-orange to brown, and for years, only a few specimens were found, so it is one of the most expensive stones.

Plutonium – $4,000 per gram

Plutonium is radioactive metal primarily used in the production of nuclear bombs and nuclear reactor fuel. Plutonium is under strict control and must be treated with very tight safety precautions.

Platinum – $60 per gram

It is a highly rare metal that is highly resistant to corrosion and is used in jewelry, chemical manufacturing, and medicine, for example, pacemakers.

Rhodium – $58 per gram

Rhodium is one of the platinum group metals and is extremely rare and used primarily in automobile catalysts and some industrial processes.

Gold – $56 per gram

Gold has symbolized wealth for millennia and remains one of the most precious metals on the planet. Beyond use in jewelry, it is used in electronics and as a central bank store of value.

Source: Telegraph