A material that is stiffer than diamond has been created by mixing particles of the mineral barium titanate and molten tin. Diamond was previously the stiffest material known.
The new material was made by a team from Washington State University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, both in the US, and from Ruhr-University Bochum in Germany.
The new substance has many industrial uses, but it does not reflect light nearly as well as a natural diamond and wont be replacing the center stone on engagement rings any time soon.