Tritanium

• Metallic element
  • Rare ore found in planetary bodies (TOS: "Obsession")
  • Known in Sol-local space as early as 22nd century (ENT: "Fight or Flight")
• Extremely dense element, 21.4 times harder than diamond (TOS: "Obsession")
  • Often used in starship hulls (ENT: "Fight or Flight", "Dead Stop"; TNG: "Where Silence Has Lease", "Rascals"; VOY: "Threshold", "Year of Hell, Part I")
  • Strikes careful balance between durability and weight; hardest element commonly used on a wide scale in starship construction as a result
• Starfleet weapons insufficient to melt tritanium by 24th century, specialized equipment required to work the metal (DIS Novel: Desperate Hours; TNG: "The Arsenal of Freedom")