The hardest natural material — pure carbon locked in a cubic lattice

The structure inside every grain of table salt

The face-centred cubic structure of the most coveted metal on Earth

The crystal structure powering next-generation solar cells

The glassy, vividly coloured mineral that gave fluorescence its name

Earth's most magnetic mineral — the original compass needle

The lustrous precious metal — face-centred cubic, the most stable form

The soft, layered form of carbon in every pencil — and a cousin of diamond

The soft, layered form of carbon in every pencil — and a cousin of diamond

The warm-toned metal that has wired human civilisation for thousands of years

The slippery form of carbon in every pencil — flat sheets stacked in perfect layers

A landmark ferroelectric crystal that changed the electronics industry

The mineral family that gives us rubies and sapphires — pure aluminium oxide

The deep red iron ore that has coloured pigments and jewellery for millennia

The mineral that gives white paint its brightness — and colours some gemstones

The crystal structure that powers every computer chip and solar panel

The classic diamond-cubic structure that underpins all modern electronics

The crumbling, non-metallic form of tin — infamous for destroying Napoleon's army buttons

The shiny, everyday metallic form of tin used in cans and solder

The gemstone mistaken for ruby in crown jewels for centuries — now a prized collector's stone

One of the hardest materials on Earth — used in bulletproof armour and tank plating

One of the rarest and most prized metals — face-centred cubic structure

The crystal behind every blue LED and the screens that light up our world

The mineral that makes up the hard structure of your bones and teeth