New materials lead to new innovations. Gorilla Glass is a big selling point for smartphones. Kevlar saves lives and has worked its way into consumer products. Lithium-ion batteries have enabled a host of energy-storage applications, from planes to cars to computers. But there's a problem.
Actually creating a new, game-changing material is a glacially slow process — especially when compared to the rate at which new products relying on those materials hit the market. It took just under nine years for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner to go from a concept to commercial flight. The development of the iPhone began in 2005; the phone was on store shelves by 2007. In contrast, the creation of new materials moves far more slowly, taking about 20...
via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2013/9/26/4766486/materials-genome-initiative-mit-and-harvard
No comments:
Post a Comment