The Smarter, Safer, Stronger, Far-Out Materials Of The Future
Bat-Wing Planes Guy StauberSelf-repairing computers! Electronic skin! Bat-wing planes! A look at the amazing stuff that's changing the world. Materials science has been at the root of material progress, and indeed all progress, for so long that we may be tempted to think that its greatest contributions are behind us. The Stone Age, the Bronze Age, the Iron Age: They were all defined by dramatic improvements in how we manufactured and manipulated everyday objects, from knapped flint for sharper ax heads to alloyed aluminum for lighter airplane wings. But now, in the Silicon Age, isn't progress just about manipulating ones and zeros? The answer is a resounding no. Materials matter more today than ever, which is why Popular Science dedicated much of this issue to them. In labs across the globe, scientists are hard at work creating the foundations of tomorrow's products: ultrasmooth coatings that repel everything from ice (on...