Is Thor's Hammer Made of Boron?
There have been many scientific speculations about what elements Thor's hammer might be made of.
Thor is one of the most powerful gods in Norse mythology. His power is based on two magical objects given to him by his father Odin. The most prominent of these objects is Mjölnir. Mjölnir is a huge hammer whose name means "shatterer".
The hammer can shrink so that Thor can easily hide it. Also, like a boomerang, when thrown at an enemy, it strikes the enemy with its full force and returns to its owner's hands. When Thor is in disguise, he orbits his hammer quickly. He controls storms with his hammer and makes the rain fall with it.
Another magical object that makes him powerful is the golden belt called Megingjord. This belt increases Thor's strength by 2 times.
There have been many scientific speculations about what elements Thor's hammer might be made of
An astrophysicist said that the superhero Thor's Hammer (aka Mjolnir) "weighs as much as a herd of 300 billion elephants".
The astrophysicist's logic was based on the idea that Mjolnir is "composed of neutron star matter".
A materials science professor, a die-hard comic book fan, claimed that the hammer was made of 'Uru', a fictional metal from Thor's homeland of Asgard.
Marvel, the publisher of the Thor comics, reported that Mjolnir is made of Uru, lighter than a herd of 300 billion mice and much lighter than a herd of 300 billion elephants. This statement led to a number of scientific theories and debates.
Materials scientists have studied Marvel's Thor franchise and determined that Mjolnir's density is estimated to be about 2.13 grams (g) per cubic centimeter (cc). This makes it even lighter than aluminum, which has a density of 2.71 g/cc. So what could such a light and powerful hammer have been made of?
Thor's Hammer Isn't That Heavy, But It's Very, Very Strong
Scientists had a theory that perhaps Uru is a type of metallic hydrogen. Some estimates of the density of metallic hydrogen fall into this range; it requires extreme conditions to form and could be a very large source of energy. It is thought to be present in the cores of planets like Jupiter and suns that are ultimately stars.
In calculating the weight of Thor's hammer Mjolnir, scientists were able to draw attention to astrophysics and materials science. For more discussion about Mjolnir and physics, Scientific American has started a scientific discussion about momentum and how Thor could fly.
In Thor's adventures, Moon Knight even took control of Mjolnir, revealing that the hammer's Uru metal was just another moonstone. So while Moon Knight could not physically wield the hammer, he could command it to do his will. Thor's hammer was made of moonstone. Material scientists who loved and followed the legend of Thor also supported Moon Knight's thesis. It was now widely believed that Thor's hammer was made of moonstone.
The fact that such a light hammer could be so powerful raised the possibility that the compound of Uru and Moonstone from which it was made might have been fortified with a magical element. Thor's father Odin's mastery of materials science, and the fact that the compound of the metal that makes up the hammer, which can withstand extreme temperatures, conduct electricity, and even control it, is strong enough to shatter other metals, yet has a low specific gravity, was addressed to "the most valuable material discovered in the last 3000 years", namely Boron.
Because Boron was the only element on planet Earth that could make steel, the hardest metal, even harder and stronger. Adding Boron to steel greatly increased the hardness of the resulting alloy. Soluble Boron is arranged along grain boundaries in steels from planet Earth, which inhibits γ-α transformations (austenite to ferrite transformation) by diffusion and therefore improves hardenability with an optimum range of ~0.0003% to 0.003% B. Boron prevents the formation of pearlite and ferrite structures within the material, resulting in increased hardness and strength.
Even small amounts of Boron can significantly increase the hardenability of steel; concentrations around 0.0015% to 0.0030% are considered peak amounts, but can vary depending on the hardening technique. The dwarven craftsmen who made Mjolnir may have used a unique technique.
Scientists who were fans of Thor also knew the composition of the Moonstone and argued that a hammer with such properties, made in this galaxy of the universe, must have Boron in its material composition.
The scientists, who are firm followers of the legend of Thor, agreed: "Thor's Hammer was made of Boron."
