5 - Economics of materials

Summary

Focus

Improvements in materials have played a primary role in the transition from a bare subsistence economy to current high living standards in the developed world. They will be even more important in meeting the challenges of increasing pollution, changing global climate, growing population, and increasing resource demands that humankind will face in the twenty-first century. However, the marvelous structures created by materials science are only scientific curiosities unless they can compete with (and, ultimately, supplant) existing materials and technologies by being cheaper and more useful. This chapter explores the close connection between materials and economics.

Synopsis

The fierce competition among materials for markets drives innovation in materials, cost reductions, and new designs both in terms of materials and in terms of the products and processes that compose US and world economic activity. The invention and discovery of new materials in the laboratory drive innovation, making possible products and processes that were only engineering dreams in the past. New products and designs require new materials, spurring innovation. Indeed, some materials have the potential to lead to more desirable products and services, decreased energy use, reduced risks to the environment and human health, and reduced consumption of scarce resources.