From basic materials, to theoretical properties, join me as I show you 8 of the most expensive
materials on Earth.
8.
Gold Let's start with one of the obvious ones,
shall we?
Gold in many ways is what makes the world go round.
Because while paper money and electronic transactions all have their value, it's gold that honestly
is the backbone of most civilized societies.
For example, when the United States makes a return on a debt that they have, they almost
always give out gold bars to the person or company in question.
Because there's no denying the value of gold.
Gold as a substance has been glorified in our culture since nearly the beginning.
We think of gold in our wedding rings, as the "top prize" of an Olympic event, you can
be the "gold standard" and so on and so forth.
In the last decade, there have been numerous TV shows put out on multiple channels about
the hunt for gold.
Discovery Channel has the monopoly of sorts on that with their Gold Rush series.
And while you might think that the actual gold rush ended in 1849, you're very wrong.
Canada, Guyana, Papa New Guinea, and even Alaska still has gold rushes of their own
going on right now.
And billions upon billions of dollars are getting pulled out of the ground every year
because of them.
An ounce of gold costs around $1300 dollars, so imagine finding 100 ounces, or a thousand.
You'd be very wealthy very quickly, if you can find it of course.
7.
White Truffles You might be surprised to see a food item
on this list, which might be shocking given that food is usually rather inexpensive.
But when it comes to certain kinds of food, their rarity jacks up their prices.
A great example of this is White Truffles.
You might know Truffles as a European delicacy that are actually really hard to grow, but
why is the White Truffle so special?
Well, here's a description one person gave it:
"Called the “diamond of the kitchen” by 18th-century epicurean Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin,
the truffle is prized among discerning food lovers.
The distinct aroma and intense earthy flavor can transform pasta, egg dishes, rice and
even foie gras into exquisite experiences.
Ancient Romans attributed therapeutic and aphrodisiac properties to the truffle, and
though this remains unproven today, there is certainly a love bordering on fervor for
truffles."
That last line is very key, because there are a great deal of people who will go to
great lengths to try and get pure and delicious truffles.
Seriously, it's kind of an obsession for some people.
A pound of these can go for $2,000, easily.
Which will likely make you appreciate how inexpensive some of your other food choices
are no doubt.
6.
Ivory One of the sadder items to make the list,
Ivory, specifically from the tusks of elephants and the horns of rhinos.
Ivory is grown naturally in these animals, and many people see them as valuable for a
whole host of reasons, but the problem is that they don't just take the horns and the
tusks, they actually go and kill the whole animal more often than not.
This has left a major hole in certain ecosystems, and has actually led to the extinction, or
near extinction, of many species.
Thankfully for these creatures, there have been steps taken to take down the trade and
selling of these horns and tusks.
It's been slow going, but progress is being made.
Just as important, the price of getting said tusks and horns are dropping.
A few years ago, it would've cost you $2100 dollars for a single kilogram of Ivory, and
now, it's about $700 as of 2017.
But while it's good that they dropped, it's still not enough.
Poachers are still going out there to try and get more and more ivory, because people
still want them.
Some for decorative purposes, others believe that the ivory has medicinal purposes.
Either way though, it hurts many species, and until this trade is fully stopped, the
animals will continue to suffer.
5.
Plutonium Arguably one of the most dangerous elements
in the world today, Plutonium is a radioactive chemical element that has been used to both
make weapons, and power ships into space.
Due to its very radioactive nature, anyone who dares try to wield Plutonium needs to
be sure that they're well protected.
Because the radioactivity of the element can seep into the bones of the person and slowly
kill them from the inside out.
And who wants that?
The element itself was made in 1940 during World War II.
And it was because of this element that both nuclear weapons and nuclear reactors were
eventually made.
Plus, both nuclear bombs that were dropped on Japan during World War II were carrying
Plutonium cores.
While we haven't dropped nuclear missiles on anyone since, the Plutonium is still very
important to many countries around the world.
And it can still be used in various non-lethal means.
Which is why it costs about $4000 a gram just to get the stuff.
But again, use it at your own risk.
4.
Diamonds Here's another of the more "obvious" ones.
But just because it's obvious doesn't mean it's not valuable.
In fact, diamonds are one of the most valuable objects in the world in terms of not just
their face value, but what they mean to the world at large.
Because diamond finding, refining, and selling is a billion dollar business.
And despite what some people will tell you, not every diamond is the same.
This is why the price and value of them can shift from one diamond to the next.
Let's say you have two diamonds, ok?
One of them is shiny, polished, and perfectly cut, and the other is the same size, but rough
around the edges and doesn't have the clarity of the other.
You might think that because they're same size they're worth the same.
But they're not.
The rougher diamond has to be worked on (if it can be worked on) in order to get it to
where it needs to be.
Some of the most valuable gemstones ever found have been diamonds, but even then, they needed
to be refined to be presentable before selling.
In terms of price though, you can go by gram or by carat.
It's around $13,000 per carat, or $65,000 per gram depending on quality.
So if you're looking to buy a diamond, and you're wondering why it cost so much, that's
why.
3.
Painite Well...that doesn't sound like a very fun
material to have, don't you think?
But in fact, Painite is one of the rarest gemstones in the world by a very large margin.
This very rare stone was discovered quite by accident.
Specifically, it was found in Myanmar by British mineralogist and gem dealer Arthur C.D.
Pain.
When Pain (get it...Pain...Painite...) first found the stone, he actually thought it was
a sapphire, which is also valuable, but not as valuable as this gem in some cases.
Anyway, no one noticed he was wrong until the 1950's, and then the stone was named after
his.
In terms of what the Painite actually is, it's a very rare borate mineral, and it's
so rare that only a couple hundred of these stones exist in terms of having been found
by people.
To that extent, only a handful of them have actually been turned into wearable gemstones.
So with all that rarity, where does that leave us in terms of price?
Well, it honestly depends on who you talk to.
Some people think it's only worth $9,000 a gram (which is still expensive in context),
while others say it's worth more like $300,000 per gram.
Either way though, this rare stone is definitely worth your time, and money, if you find one.
2.
Californium No, this is not the material that makes up
the state of California (though could you imagine if it was?), but rather, this is a
very rare, and very valuable, element that is so unique that it's only been synthesized
once since it was made back in 1950.
Think about that, despite its value, it's barely been made.
The material itself was made at the University of California by researchers, thus why it's
named as such, to pay respect to the people at the university who made it.
It's a synthetic chemical, and only the sixth transuranium element to ever be discovered.
Experiments with it weren't done until years later, and only then were its purposes slowly
expanded upon.
Which wasn't easy at first given its shelf life.
But now, it's used to help nuclear reactors, as well as help find oil and water within
wells.
But because of how hard it is to make, it's incredibly expensive.
Just low-balling it, it would cost about $25-27 million dollars a gram to own some Californium.
So it's best to ask yourselves, do you really need this synthetic chemical?
1.
Antimatter They say that pushing the bounds of science
can be costly, and when it comes to the process of trying to make large amounts of Antimatter,
it's very costly.
Wikipedia describes Antimatter as "a material composed of the antiparticles (or "partners")
of the corresponding particles of ordinary matter."
And it's a principle of science that many people are desperate trying to "make form"
via particle accelerators and other such devices.
Because the only way to "naturally" create Antimatter is via collisions of particles
at high speeds, cosmic ray collisions, and sometimes radioactive particle decay.
The big problem though is that while certain particle accelerators are able to create Antimatter,
it's in nearly microscopic levels.
A visible amount of Antimatter (in terms of having it in front of the human eye) has never
been done.
Because it's incredibly hard to not only make antimatter, but then bond it together to be
visible.
And trust me when I saw, many have tried to make this happen.
But, that being said, if they are able to do this, the sky is the limit in regards to
what it can do to better mankind.
One of the most popular theories about what it'll be used for is the powering of spaceships,
which could further manned space travel.
It would also save the planet financially, because a single gram of this stuff would
cost tens of trillions of dollars.
And that's a conservative estimate.
Thanks for watching!
What did you think of these expensive materials?
Can you believe their value?
Do you know another substance that could be on this list?
Let me know your thoughts in the comments below, be sure to subscribe, and I'll see
you next time!