My 10 Favorite Materials

1. Material: Silver

Processing: R-Process (nuclear fusion that produces heavy elements)

Properties: Highest electrical and thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal!

Applications: Currency, water filtration

Ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver

2. Material: Glass

Processing: Silica combined with soda ash and limestone melted together at 1700 C

Properties: Transmits, reflects, and refracts light

Applications: Vases, lenses

Ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass

3. Material: Aerogel

Processing: Supercritical drying to extract liquid from gel, causing liquid to melt away and gel structure to remain unchanged

Properties: Low density and thermal conductivity, looks like “solid smoke” due to light scattering

Applications: Insulation, paint thickener

Ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerogel

4. Material: Wood

Processing: Cut down, shaped via wood cutter, dried

Properties: Strong and stiff, but light and flexible, isotropic

Applications: Housing, paper

Ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood

5. Material: Diamond

Processing: Cut, polished, faceted

Properties: FCC crystal structure, few impurities, durable, transparent, heat resistant

Applications: Jewelry, cutting

Ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamond

6. Material: Electronic Textiles

Processing: Electronics embodied within fabric

Properties: Communication, transformation, conducting energy

Applications: “Smart” clothing, monitoring pilot fatigue

Ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-textiles#Uses

7. Material: Pyrotechnic materials

Processing: Exothermic chemical reaction

Properties: Explosive

Applications: Fireworks, war

Ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fireworks

8. Material: Steel

Processing: Smelting with carbon to diminish iron oxides

Properties: Add other materials to change properties, i.e. nickel and manganese create stronger and better tensile strength

Applications: Buildings, space ships, tools, armor

Ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steel

9. Material: Rubber

Processing: Harvested/tapped from trees, then refined into rubber

Properties: Stress-strain behavior exhibits Mullins/Payne effect, does not dissolve easily, melting temp of 180 C

Applications: Diving gear, balloons, hoses, clothing (i.e. boots)

Ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_rubber

10. Material: Tungsten Carbide

Processing: Reaction of tungsten metal and carbon at 2000 C, or low temp fluid bed process

Properties: High melting temperature, 2x stiffer than steel, low electrical resistivity

Applications: Machinery, trekking poles, ammunition, jewelry

Ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tungsten_carbide