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Densest Materials on the Earth

Since nucleons (protons and neutrons) make up most of the mass of ordinary atoms, the density of normal matter tends to be limited by how closely we can pack these nucleons and depends on the internal atomic structure. The densest material found on earth is the metal osmium. Still, its density pales by comparison to the densities of exotic astronomical objects such as white dwarf stars and neutron stars.

List of densest materials:

  1. Osmium – 22.6 x 103 kg/m3
  2. Iridium – 22.4 x 103 kg/m3
  3. Platinum – 21.5 x 103 kg/m3
  4. Rhenium – 21.0 x 103 kg/m3
  5. Plutonium – 19.8 x 103 kg/m3
  6. Gold – 19.3 x 103 kg/m3
  7. Tungsten – 19.3 x 103 kg/m3
  8. Uranium – 18.8 x 103 kg/m3
  9. Tantalum – 16.6 x 103 kg/m3
  10. Mercury – 13.6 x 103 kg/m3
  11. Rhodium – 12.4 x 103 kg/m3
  12. Thorium – 11.7 x 103 kg/m3
  13. Lead – 11.3 x 103 kg/m3
  14. Silver – 10.5 x 103 kg/m3

It must be noted, plutonium is a manufactured isotope and is created from uranium in nuclear reactors. But scientists have found trace amounts of naturally-occurring plutonium.

If we include manufactured elements, the densest so far is Hassium. Hassium is a chemical element with the symbol Hs and atomic number 108.  It is a synthetic element (first synthesized at Hasse in Germany) and radioactive. The most stable known isotope, 269Hs, has a half-life of approximately 9.7 seconds. It has an estimated density of 40.7 x 103 kg/m3.  The density of Hassium results from its high atomic weight and the significant decrease in ionic radii of the elements in the lanthanide series, known as lanthanide and actinide contraction.

The density of Hassium is followed by Meitnerium (element 109, named after the physicist Lise Meitner), which has an estimated density of 37.4 x 103 kg/m3.

 
Density - Important property in gamma rays shielding
See also: Shielding of Gamma Radiation

In short, effective shielding of gamma radiation is in most cases based on the use of materials with two following material properties:

  • the high-density of material. 
  • the high atomic number of material  (high Z materials)

However, low-density materials and low Z materials can be compensated with increased thickness, which is as significant as density and atomic number in shielding applications.

A lead is widely used as a gamma shield.  The major advantage of the lead shield is its compactness due to its higher density. On the other hand, depleted uranium is much more effective due to its higher Z.  Depleted uranium shields in portable gamma-ray sources.

In nuclear power plants shielding of a reactor core can be provided by materials of reactor pressure vessel, reactor internals (neutron reflector). Also heavy concrete is usually used to shield both neutrons and gamma radiation.

The density of Nuclear Matter

Nuclear density is the density of the nucleus of an atom. It is the ratio of mass per unit volume inside the nucleus. Since the atomic nucleus carries most of the atom’s mass and the atomic nucleus is very small compared to the entire atom, the nuclear density is very high.

The nuclear density for a typical nucleus can be approximately calculated from the size of the nucleus and its mass. Typical nuclear radii are of the order 10−14 m. Nuclear radii can be calculated according to the following formula assuming spherical shape:

r = r0 . A1/3

where r0 = 1.2 x 10-15 m = 1.2 fm

For example, natural uranium consists primarily of isotope 238U (99.28%). Therefore the atomic mass of the uranium element is close to the atomic mass of the 238U isotope (238.03u). The radius of this nucleus will be:

r = r0 . A1/3 = 7.44 fm.

Assuming it is spherical, its volume will be:

V = 4πr3/3 = 1.73 x 10-42 m3.

The usual definition of nuclear density gives for its density:

ρnucleus = m / V = 238 x 1.66 x 10-27 / (1.73 x 10-42) = 2.3 x 1017 kg/m3.

Thus, the density of nuclear material is more than 2.1014 times greater than that of water. It is an immense density. The descriptive term nuclear density is also applied to situations where similarly high densities occur, such as within neutron stars. Such immense densities are also found in neutron stars.

 
Density of Neutron Star
The densest material found on earth is the metal osmium, but its density pales by comparison to the densities of exotic astronomical objects such as white dwarf stars and neutron stars.

A neutron star is the collapsed core of a large star (usually of a red giant). Neutron stars are the smallest and densest stars known to exist, and they rotate extremely rapidly. A neutron star is a giant atomic nucleus about 11 km in diameter made especially of neutrons. It is believed that under the immense pressures of collapsing massive stars going supernova, the electrons and protons can combine to form neutrons via electron capture, releasing a huge amount of neutrinos.

They are so dense that one teaspoon of its material would have a mass over 5.5×1012 kg. It is assumed they have densities of 3.7 × 1017 to 6 × 1017 kg/m3, which is comparable to the approximate density of an atomic nucleus of 2.3 × 1017 kg/m3.

 
References:
Reactor Physics and Thermal Hydraulics:
  1. J. R. Lamarsh, Introduction to Nuclear Reactor Theory, 2nd ed., Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA (1983).
  2. J. R. Lamarsh, A. J. Baratta, Introduction to Nuclear Engineering, 3d ed., Prentice-Hall, 2001, ISBN: 0-201-82498-1.
  3. W. M. Stacey, Nuclear Reactor Physics, John Wiley & Sons, 2001, ISBN: 0- 471-39127-1.
  4. Glasstone, Sesonske. Nuclear Reactor Engineering: Reactor Systems Engineering, Springer; 4th edition, 1994, ISBN: 978-0412985317
  5. Todreas Neil E., Kazimi Mujid S. Nuclear Systems Volume I: Thermal Hydraulic Fundamentals, Second Edition. CRC Press; 2 edition, 2012, ISBN: 978-0415802871
  6. Zohuri B., McDaniel P. Thermodynamics in Nuclear Power Plant Systems. Springer; 2015, ISBN: 978-3-319-13419-2
  7. Moran Michal J., Shapiro Howard N. Fundamentals of Engineering Thermodynamics, Fifth Edition, John Wiley & Sons, 2006, ISBN: 978-0-470-03037-0
  8. Kleinstreuer C. Modern Fluid Dynamics. Springer, 2010, ISBN 978-1-4020-8670-0.
  9. U.S. Department of Energy, THERMODYNAMICS, HEAT TRANSFER, AND FLUID FLOW. DOE Fundamentals Handbook, Volume 1, 2, and 3. June 1992.

See above:

Density