blade that can slice through anything?

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hiimwayne

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I'm sure alot of you have heard about swords or blades that are so sharp, they can slice through anything. In fairytales such as excalibur and video games that is. My question is.. is it possible to have a blade that's sharp enough to cut through anything? What would be required to build such a weapon?
 
I don't know. Daimonds may be the hardest material on earth but I heard if you hit it with a hammer it will shatter. It wouldn't be much use if you attempt to slice at a car or a huge chunk of boulder and have the blade shatter to peices.
 
can nanotechnology possibly make one harder than a diamond?

I saw it in a videogame ;) but is it possible?
 
i doubt it cause of the structure of diamond but i am no expert

and no dimons dont shatter if u hit them

they are the strongest substance (ie best under comprssion or tension)
 
A diamond will shatter if you hit it with a metal hammer, just like any other rock. You just have to hit it a bit harder. Diamond is the hardest known substance, but it's very brittle; it can't bend even a little bit without breaking. I think diamond would make a very poor blade for a sword. You want sword blades to be as flexible as possible so that you can hit things without having to worry about your sword breaking.
 
Read Ringworld by Larry Niven: a variable knife is a lenth of wire a few atoms thick that is bound in a chronostasis field. That will cut through anything. The thicker the blade, the more resistance you will encounter. The thinner the blade, the more it will bend and the more likely it will break. The material is an issue too. Diamond is very hard, but not flexible. It's not the hardest substance known to man. Most carbides are harder, and are frequently used instead. You can make it better by edging a flexible material with a hard material.
 
pumpkinsaren'torange


i'm pretty sure a diamond blade is about the hardest blade you could find.. on this side of reality, anyways..
Click to expand...

Nasor

Diamond is the hardest known substance, but it's very brittle; it can't bend even a little bit without breaking
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i think you guys mean naturally occuring substance. i'm pretty sure theres been at least one man made substance (made under tremendous pressure and heat) that is considerably harder than natural or manmade diamonds
 
Gifted as brought up what I thought of. That of a molecular cutting edge. While not possible today I would not think that it will be that far off into the future. Nanotech may well make part of this possible.

Samurai were renown for their edges. The traditional wave pattern left by the folding of the steel many times made for a ledgenary edge of sharpness and yet flexible sword.
 
With your pick of atoms to work with, assembly of a blade one atom at a time would allow you to create a solid with a perfect lattice structure, perfect blend of materials for hardness and flexibility, and best ultimate strength.

Right now the most durable and expensive blades I can think of are expensive fencing blades made out of maraging steel.
 
We have had for decades diamond blades with edges a single molecule thick. When you slice off cell shavings for use in electron microscopes and such, you ened them a single cell thick, and these mono-molecula r edged baldes are what you use to get those samples. They are horribly expensive, only big companies and big research places have them. They are, of course, tremendously delicate.
 
Samurai were renown for their edges. The traditional wave pattern left by the folding of the steel many times made for a legendary edge of sharpness and yet flexible sword.
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It was the hardening technic that made the wave patten,the blade was coated with clay that was thinner at the edge,& done in a wavy patten to look nice.
Although the folding & fire welding of the blade did give it great flexibility.
 
Japanese swords at their best involved folding soft iron over up to twelve times usually, never more than 20 times. This gave a flexible backbone for the sword. Onto this was welded a hard steel edge, a single bar. The height of this art was maybe 250 to 150 years ago.

Now, about 2,500 years before the Japanese were doing that, the various Celtic peoples of Europe had a blade-smithing technique known as pattern-welding. This involved first twisting together several thin rods of iron to produce a backbone pretty much exactly the same as that used much later in the katana, then welding a hard steel edge to each side. There is one pattern-welded blade in a family collection in Europe which saw use in war over three centuries, remaining in service to one family.
 
Adam you are right about all of it except the Katana it did not have a welded on hard steel edge!it was one piece! thats why they used the technical of hardening it with thicker clay at the back & thinner at the front.
So the steel was harder at the front than the back.
 
The katana could not cut a lump of butter if it did not have a hard steel egde welded on. The folded iron provides a tough yet flexible springy backbone. The hard steel edge does the cutting.
 
The hard steel edge does the cutting.
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Yes & I have told you how they made that hard edge,without welding an edge on to it.
The English sword had fire welded edge's but none of the Japanese swords had that!
PS have you worked with iron or steel??as I have for most of my life.
 
Well I just looked at the link you gave,& if you are referring to the forge weld,that is where it is ground away exposing it,when they fold the sword they forge or fire weld it together,as it would be like a load of unlamented sheets if they did not.
 
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