Unobtainium, a metal featured in films like “Avatar” and “The Core”, was an engineering term coined in the 50’s to describe any highly desirable material that is hypothetical, scientifically impossible, extremely rare, costly, or fictional

Unobtainium

In fiction, engineering, and thought experiments, unobtainium is any hypothetical, fictional, or impossible material, but it can also mean a tangible but extremely rare, costly, or reasonably unobtainable material. Less commonly, it can refer to a device with desirable engineering properties for an application, but which are exceedingly difficult or impossible to achieve.

The properties of any particular example of unobtainium depend on the intended use, e.g. a pulley made of unobtainium might be massless and frictionless; however, if used in a nuclear rocket, unobtainium might have the needed qualities of lightness, strength at high temperatures, and resistance to radiation damage, having all 3 qualities being nearly impossible for tod… Continue Reading (5 minute read)