10 Most Expensive Substances In The World
1.ANTIMATTER
Cost: $100 trillion per gram
What you do with it: Antimatter could possibly fuel spaceships to the planets, and maybe the stars, in the years to come.In particle physics,
antimatter is material
composed of antiparticles,
which have the same mass as
particles of ordinary matter
but have opposite charge and
other particle properties
such as lepton and baryon
number, quantum spin, etc.
Encounters between particles
and antiparticles lead to
the annihilation of both,
giving rise to varying
proportions of high-energy
photons (gamma rays),
neutrinos, and lower-mass
particle–antiparticle pairs.
Setting aside the mass of
any product neutrinos,
which represent released
energy that generally
continues to be unavailable,
the end result of
annihilation is a
release of energy
available to do work,
proportional to
the total matter
and antimatter mass,
in accord with the
mass-energy
equivalence equation,
E=mc2.[1]
antimatter is material
composed of antiparticles,
which have the same mass as
particles of ordinary matter
but have opposite charge and
other particle properties
such as lepton and baryon
number, quantum spin, etc.
Encounters between particles
and antiparticles lead to
the annihilation of both,
giving rise to varying
proportions of high-energy
photons (gamma rays),
neutrinos, and lower-mass
particle–antiparticle pairs.
Setting aside the mass of
any product neutrinos,
which represent released
energy that generally
continues to be unavailable,
the end result of
annihilation is a
release of energy
available to do work,
proportional to
the total matter
and antimatter mass,
in accord with the
mass-energy
equivalence equation,
E=mc2.[1]
2.californium 252
Cost: $27 million per gram
What you do with it: The Californium isotope is used in devices that find layers of oil and water in oil wells.Californium is a radioactive metallic chemical element
with symbol Cf and atomic number 98. The element was first
made in 1950 at the University of California Radiation
Laboratory in Berkeley, by bombarding curium with alpha
particles (helium-4 ions). It is an actinide element,
the sixth transuranium element to be synthesized, and
has the second-highest atomic mass of all the elements
that have been produced in amounts large enough to see
with the unaided eye (after einsteinium). The element
was named after the university and the state of California.
It is the heaviest element to occur naturally on Earth;
heavier elements can only be produced by synthesis.
with symbol Cf and atomic number 98. The element was first
made in 1950 at the University of California Radiation
Laboratory in Berkeley, by bombarding curium with alpha
particles (helium-4 ions). It is an actinide element,
the sixth transuranium element to be synthesized, and
has the second-highest atomic mass of all the elements
that have been produced in amounts large enough to see
with the unaided eye (after einsteinium). The element
was named after the university and the state of California.
It is the heaviest element to occur naturally on Earth;
heavier elements can only be produced by synthesis.
3. Painite
What you do with it: Thought to be the rarest gem mineral, it can be used in crystal healing or just make a pretty collectible.
*FYI: A carat = 0.2 grams
Painite is a very rare borate mineral. It was first found in Myanmar by British
mineralogist and gem dealer Arthur C.D.
Pain in the 1950s. When it was confirmed
as a new mineral species, the mineral was named after him.
The chemical makeup of painite contains calcium, zirconium,
boron, aluminium and oxygen (CaZrAl9O15(BO3)).
The mineral also contains trace amounts of
chromium and vanadium. Painite has an orange-red
to brownish-red color similar to topaz due to trace
amounts of iron. The crystals are naturally hexagonal
in shape, and, until late 2004, only two had been cut
into faceted gemstones.
4.Diamonds
What you do with it: Buy engagement rings.
*FYI: A carat = 0.2 grams
In mineralogy, diamond (/daɪ(ə)mənd/; from the ancient Greek ἀδάμας – adámas "unbreakable") is a metastable
allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged
in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal
structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less
stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from
diamond to graphite is negligible at standard conditions.
Diamond is renowned as a material with superlative physical
qualities, most of which originate from the strong covalent
bonding between its atoms. In particular, diamond has the
highest hardness and thermal conductivity of any bulk material.
Those properties determine the major industrial application of
diamond in cutting and polishing tools and the scientific
applications in diamond knives and diamond anvil cells.
Because of its extremely rigid lattice, it can be
contaminated by very few types of impurities, such
as boron and nitrogen. Small amounts of defects or
impurities (about one per million of lattice atoms)
color diamond blue (boron), yellow (nitrogen), brown
(lattice defects), green (radiation exposure), purple,
pink, orange or red. Diamond also has relatively high
optical dispersion (ability to disperse light of different
colors).
Most natural diamonds are formed at high temperature and
pressure at depths of 140 to 190 kilometers (87 to 118 mi)
in the Earth's mantle. Carbon-containing minerals provide
the carbon source, and the growth occurs over periods from
1 billion to 3.3 billion years (25% to 75% of the age of
the Earth). Diamonds are brought close to the Earth's
surface through deep volcanic eruptions by a magma, which
cools into igneous rocks known as kimberlites and lamproites.
Diamonds can also be produced synthetically in a HPHT method
which approximately simulates the conditions in the Earth's
mantle. An alternative, and completely different growth
technique is chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Several
non-diamond materials, which include cubic zirconia and
silicon carbide and are often called diamond simulants,
resemble diamond in appearance and many properties.
Special gemological techniques have been developed to
distinguish natural, synthetic diamonds and diamond
simulants.
5. Tritium
Cost: $30,000 per gram
What you do with it: Tritium is used in self-luminating EXIT signs found in theaters, schools, and office buildings. There are more than 2 million tritium EXIT signs in the United States.
Tritium also known as hydrogen-3) is a radioactive isotope
of hydrogen. The nucleus of tritium
(sometimes called a triton) contains
one proton and two neutrons, whereas
the nucleus of protium (by far the most
abundant hydrogen isotope) contains one proton and
no neutrons. Naturally occurring tritium is extremely
rare on Earth, where trace amounts are formed by the
interaction of the atmosphere with cosmic rays.
The name of this isotope is formed from the Greek word
"tritos" meaning "third".
6. Taaffeite
What you do with it: The mauve-colored gem is thought to be more than a million times scarcer than diamonds. And while it's a bit too durable to use often in jewelry, if you're lucky enough to find one, don't let your hands off it.
*FYI: A carat = 0.2 grams
Taaffeite (/ˈtɑːfaɪt/; BeMgAl4O8) is a mineral,
named after its discoverer Richard Taaffe (1898–1967)
who found the first sample, a cut and polished gem,
in October 1945 in a jeweler's shop in Dublin, Ireland.
As such, it is the only gemstone to have been initially
identified from a faceted stone. Most pieces of the gem,
prior to Taaffe, had been misidentified as spinel.
For many years afterwards, it was known only in a few samples,
and is still one of the rarest gemstone minerals in the world
Since 2002, the International Mineralogical Association-approved
name for taaffeite as a mineral is magnesiotaaffeite-2N'2S.Taaffe bought a number of precious stones from a jeweller
in October 1945. Upon noticing inconsistencies between
the taaffeite and spinels, Taaffe sent some examples
to B. W. Anderson of the Laboratory of the London Chamber
of Commerce for identification on 1 November 1945.
When Anderson replied on 5 November 1945, he told Taaffe
that they were unsure of whether it was a spinel or
something new; he also offered to write it up in Gemmologist.
7. Plutonium
What you do with it: It makes things nuclear. There are two kinds of plutonium that can be used for either military purposes or nuclear reactors.
Plutonium is a transuranic radioactive chemical element with symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide
metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when
exposed to air, and forms a dull coating when oxidized.
The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four
oxidation states. It reacts with carbon, halogens, nitrogen,
silicon and hydrogen. When exposed to moist air, it forms
oxides and hydrides that expand the sample up to 70% in volume,
which in turn flake off as a powder that can spontaneously
ignite. It is radioactive and can accumulate in bones.
These properties make the handling of plutonium dangerous.
A team led by Glenn T. Seaborg and Edwin McMillan at the
University of California, Berkeley, first synthesized
plutonium in 1940 by bombarding uranium-238 with deuterons.
Plutonium is the heaviest primordial element by virtue of
its most stable isotope, plutonium-244, whose half-life of
about 80 million years is just long enough for the element
to be found in trace quantities in nature. Plutonium is
mostly a byproduct of nuclear reactions, where some of
the neutrons released by the fission process convert
uranium-238 nuclei into plutonium.
8.LSD
What you do with it: Popular in the 1960s, this substance is known to causehallucinations.Ingesting hallucinogenic drugs can cause users to see images, hear sounds, and feel sensations that seem real but do not exist. Their effects typically begin within 20 to 90 minutes of ingestion and can last as long as 12 hours. Experiences are often unpredictable and may vary with the amount ingested and the user’s personality, mood, expectations, and surroundings. The effects of hallucinogens like LSD can be described as drug-induced psychosis—distortion or disorganization of a person’s capacity to recognize reality, think rationally, or communicate with others. Users refer to LSD and other hallucinogenic experiences as “trips” and to acute adverse or unpleasant experiences as “bad trips.” On some trips, users experience sensations that are enjoyable and mentally stimulating and that produce a sense of heightened understanding. Bad trips, however, include terrifying thoughts and nightmarish feelings of anxiety and despair that include fears of losing control, insanity, or death. Specific short-term effects of LSD and psilocybin include:
9. Crack Cocaine
What you do with it: Some say party, others say develop a problematic habit.
Crack cocaine is the freebase form of cocaine that can be smoked. It may also be termed rock, work, hard, iron,
cavvy, base, or just crack; the Manual of Adolescent
Substance Abuse Treatment calls it the most addictive
form of cocaine.[1] Crack rocks offer a short but intense
high to smokers.[2][3] Crack first saw widespread use in
primarily impoverished inner city neighborhoods in New York,
Los Angeles, and Miami in late 1984 and 1985; the rapid
increase in use and availability is referred to as the crack Sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3, common baking soda) is a base used
in preparation of crack, although other weak bases may
substitute for it. The net reaction when using sodium
bicarbonate is
Coc-H+Cl− + NaHCO3 → Coc + H2O + CO2 + NaCl
With Ammonium bicarbonate:
Coc-H+Cl− + NH4HCO3 → Coc + NH4Cl + CO2 + H2O
With Ammonium carbonate:
2(Coc-H+Cl−) + (NH4)2CO3 → 2 Coc + 2 NH4Cl + CO2 + H2O
Crack cocaine is frequently purchased already in rock form,
although it is not uncommon for some users
to "wash up" or "cook" powder cocaine into crack themselves.
This process is frequently done with baking soda
(sodium bicarbonate), water, and a spoon. Once mixed and
heated, the bicarbonate breaks down into carbon dioxide and
sodium carbonate, which then reacts with the hydrochloride of
the powder cocaine, leaving cocaine as an oily free base.
Once separated from the hydrochloride, the cocaine alkaloid
floats to the top of the now leftover liquid. It is at this
point that the oil is picked up rapidly, usually with a pin
or long thin object. This pulls the oil up and spins it,
allowing air to set and dry the oil, and allows the maker
to roll the oil into the rock-like shape.
Crack vaporizes near temperature 90 °C (194 °F) much lower
than the cocaine hydrochloride melting point of 190 °C (374 °F).
[1] Whereas cocaine hydrochloride cannot be smoked (burns with
no effect),[1] crack cocaine when smoked allows for quick
absorption into the blood stream, and reaches the brain in
8 seconds.[1] Crack cocaine can also be injected intravenously
with the same effect as powder cocaine. However, whereas powder
cocaine dissolves in water, crack must be dissolved in an
acidic solution such as lemon juice or white vinegar,
a process that effectively reverses the original conversion
of powder cocaine to crack.
10. Methamphetamine Drugs
What you do with it: The highly-addictive drug can produce euphoric effects and is often popular with teenagers.
Methamphetamine contracted from N-methyl-alpha-methylphenethylamine)
is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant of the
phenethylamine and amphetamine classes that is used as a
recreational drug and, rarely, to treat attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and obesity. Methamphetamine
exists as two enantiomers, dextrorotary and levorotary.
Dextromethamphetamine is a stronger CNS stimulant than
levomethamphetamine; however, both are neurotoxic,
addictive and produce the same toxicity symptoms at
high doses. Although rarely prescribed due to the potential
risks, methamphetamine hydrochloride is approved by the
United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) under
the trade name Desoxyn. Recreationally, methamphetamine
is used to increase sexual desire, lift the mood, and
increase energy, allowing some users to engage in sexual
activity continuously for several days straight.
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