Intrinsic hardness of crystalline solids

The current status of various theoretical approaches to the “prediction” of material hardness has been reviewed. It is shown that the simple empirical correlation with the shear moduli generally provide very good estimates of the Vickers hardness. Semi-empirical models based solely on the strength of the chemical bonds, although performed as well, are theoretically incomplete. First-principles calculations of the ideal stress and shear strength is perhaps the most reliable and theoretically sound approach available to compare theoretical predictions with experiment.