What is the hardest man made material?

[willstaruss22]

Im just curious if Humans have created anything harder than a diamond.

 

[Bandersnatch]

Here you go:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aggregated_diamond_nanorod
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120816141529.htm

 

[dbmorpher]

Now the hardest thing nature has ever created (by nature I mean space) Is neutronium, if it exists

 

[phinds]

Now the hardest thing nature has ever created (by nature I mean space) Is neutronium, if it exists

I don't think that's actually helpful, even if it does exist, because you can't DO anything with it. As I understand it, as soon as a small amount of was removed from a neutron star, it would separate explosively.

 

[dbmorpher]

I don't think that's actually helpful, even if it does exist, because you can't DO anything with it. As I understand it, as soon as a small amount of was removed from a neutron star, it would separate explosively.

exactly

 

[ImaLooser]

Now the hardest thing nature has ever created (by nature I mean space) Is neutronium, if it exists

It isn't clear. Neutron star cores are superfluid, so they might not be hard at all. Intuition is not of much use.

The problem is that how would you test such hardness? If you tried to scratch it wish something else, that something would collapse into neutrons and be absorbed, I think. So what does hardness even mean?