Combining two materials can yield a composite with a Young's modulus (stiffness) far higher than either material alone. Now T Jaglinski of Washington State University in Pullman and colleagues at Ruhr-University Bochum and the University of Wisconsin-Madison have made an extreme composite of barium titanate and tin.
The material has a Young's modulus that, depending on temperature, can be several times higher than that of diamond. Such extreme stiffness may also occur in nature and be involved in deep-focus earthquakes.
Further reading
T Jaglinski et al. 2007 Science 315 620.