Is there any real world equivalent of adamantium/unobtanium, natural or man-made?

Question

Is there any real world equivalent of adamantium/unobtanium, natural or man-made?

Answer 1

No.  Marvel/DC writers routinely ignore the laws of physics to an appalling degree, and the Core was a laughably inaccurate movie.

Unobtanium, a material that BECOMES HARDER WITH PRESSURE?  That's sort of like regular matter, but it doesn't become noticeable until you're at the center of a cooling star.

That said, carbon nanotubes are hundreds of times as strong as steel, though production is in its infancy.

Answer 2

Those names, "adamantium" and "unobtainium," are old jokes told by chemistry teachers to confuse their students and make them think.

"adamant" means "refusing to give way or to admit defeat."  So "adamantium" is a humorous name for a fictitious substance that cannot be melted, dissolved, cut through, or beaten into shape by any known force.

"unobtainable" means "not able to be obtained," and it is a humorous reference to a substance that has wonderful or even magical properties, but cannot be obtained.

These are just literary whimsy, and the terms don't refer to anything in real life.

Sorry.

Answer 3

I just want to add to Aviophage's explanation that unobtanium and its alloys are also very popular in engineering, where they are the solution to many unsolvable design problems.

Answer 4

If you mean an indistructable material, then there is not. There are materials that are extremely hard (e.g. diamond-like amorphous carbon, as well as diamond, are the hardest substances known to man), difficult to melt (metals such as tungsten), or that possess great tensile strength (e.g. carbon nanotubes), but most of these have other shortcomings. All substances will deteriorate under a great enough temperature, stress, or pressure, no matter their composition.