Which Metal Is The Strongest?
Metals are some of the most abundant materials on Earth. They can be used in a wide variety of applications and are the basic building blocks of our day-to-day lives. With so many metals out there, you might be curious as to which one tops the rest in terms of strength. Actually, the answer to this question is a lot more complicated than you might think! Metals are judged based on several different strength-related characteristics. So, there actually isn’t a concrete answer to this question! However, that doesn’t mean there are metals that stand above the others. We’ve highlighted the strongest metals based on these measurements below.
Tensile Strength: Tungsten
When you talk about tensile strength, tungsten is far and away the strongest metal amongst its counterparts. What is tensile strength? This term refers to a metal’s ability to handle tension. In other words, tensile strength measures how easily something can be pulled apart. Because of its high tensile strength, tungsten is often used in electrical and military applications, where that factor is crucial.
Compressive Strength: Chromium
When you talk about a metal’s compressive strength, it refers to how difficult a metal is to compress. This is actually measured using a set called Moh’s Scale of Hardness. When you look at that scale, chromium is far and away the leader in compressive strength. If you haven’t heard of chromium before, you may know it better as one of the main components of the stainless steel alloy. Anyone that knows stainless steel knows that it’s incredibly useful, and chromium is part of why that is!
Yield Strength: Tungsten
Of course, it would only make sense that the metal with the strongest tensile strength would also have the strongest yield strength. Yield strength is similar to tensile strength in that it revolves around force applied to the metal, but differs in what it actually measures. While tensile strength measures what it takes to tear a metal in half, yield strength measures how much force is needed to permanently deform it. Tungsten is strong in both of these properties.
Impact Strength: Titanium
Impact strength is used to refer to how much impact a metal can withstand before it shatters. This is a unique measurement due to the fact that a lot of the metals that are great in the other categories end up not being as useful here! When it comes to impact strength, titanium is king. It’s one of the least brittle metals out there, which greatly aids it in this area.
Metalworking at Markham Metals
When it comes to all things metal, you can trust the experts at Markham Metals to get the job done right! We offer a wide variety of metalworking services and in-house products for your selection. To learn more and see what we can do for you, fill out a contact form today!
Metals are some of the most abundant materials on Earth. They can be used in a wide variety of applications and are the basic building blocks of our day-to-day lives. With so many metals out there, you might be curious as to which one tops the rest in terms of strength. Actually, the answer to this question is a lot more complicated than you might think! Metals are judged based on several different strength-related characteristics. So, there actually isn’t a concrete answer to this question! However, that doesn’t mean there are metals that stand above the others. We’ve highlighted the strongest metals based on these measurements below.
Tensile Strength: Tungsten
When you talk about tensile strength, tungsten is far and away the strongest metal amongst its counterparts. What is tensile strength? This term refers to a metal’s ability to handle tension. In other words, tensile strength measures how easily something can be pulled apart. Because of its high tensile strength, tungsten is often used in electrical and military applications, where that factor is crucial.
Compressive Strength: Chromium
When you talk about a metal’s compressive strength, it refers to how difficult a metal is to compress. This is actually measured using a set called Moh’s Scale of Hardness. When you look at that scale, chromium is far and away the leader in compressive strength. If you haven’t heard of chromium before, you may know it better as one of the main components of the stainless steel alloy. Anyone that knows stainless steel knows that it’s incredibly useful, and chromium is part of why that is!
Yield Strength: Tungsten
Of course, it would only make sense that the metal with the strongest tensile strength would also have the strongest yield strength. Yield strength is similar to tensile strength in that it revolves around force applied to the metal, but differs in what it actually measures. While tensile strength measures what it takes to tear a metal in half, yield strength measures how much force is needed to permanently deform it. Tungsten is strong in both of these properties.
Impact Strength: Titanium
Impact strength is used to refer to how much impact a metal can withstand before it shatters. This is a unique measurement due to the fact that a lot of the metals that are great in the other categories end up not being as useful here! When it comes to impact strength, titanium is king. It’s one of the least brittle metals out there, which greatly aids it in this area.
Metalworking at Markham Metals
When it comes to all things metal, you can trust the experts at Markham Metals to get the job done right! We offer a wide variety of metalworking services and in-house products for your selection. To learn more and see what we can do for you, fill out a contact form today!
