One of the world’s most expensive items sells for more than £106,000,000 a gram and is probably not what you’re expecting.
When you think of the most expensive items in the world, you probably picture platinum, gold or diamonds.
But one of the world’s most expensive substances is actually a powder – and just a single gram can cost more than £100,000,000.
The substance is called Nitrogen Atom-Based Endohedral Fullerenes.
The material is essentially a cage of carbon atoms with a nitrogen atom inside. But what makes the item so valuable is what it could enable in the future.
The substance has the potential to create very small and highly accurate atomic clocks which scientists believe could even be carried around in your pocket.
Dr Kyriakos Porfyrakis told the Telegraph: ‘Imagine a miniaturised atomic clock that you could carry around in your smartphone.
‘This is the next revolution for mobile.’
An atomic clock measures time by monitoring the resonant frequency of atoms.
The first atomic clock was invented in 1949 by scientists working in Washington D.C. but, at that time, was hardly any better than existing electronic clocks.
But atomic clocks have improved at an astonishing rate and in 2024 the best versions are billions of times more accurate than any electrical clock.
They’re currently around the size of a room, however, which makes it difficult for scientists to sufficiently make use of them.
That’s why Nitrogen Atom-Based Endohedral Fullerenes is so valuable.
One of the problems which the substance could solve is the positioning of driverless cars, for instance.
Current GPS navigation only offers accuracy to within a few yards, which makes it difficult to successfully track and control vehicles. The miniature atomic clock could remedy that, meaning driverless cars could become more reliable, and commonplace, than ever.
The tiny atomic clocks are not expected to come into fruition anytime soon, however.
Dr Porfyrakis said: ‘It will take a few years to finalise this research project.
‘If there will be a final product, it should be miniature enough to go into portable devices.’
Nitrogen Atom-Based Endohedral Fullerenes is reportedly earth’s second most valuable material only beaten by antimatter, which NASA estimate is worth £41 trillion per gram.
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