Unobtainium
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Science fiction
The term was coined in the mid-20th century for materials that often arise in science fiction. For example scrith, the fictional material forming the foundation of the Ringworld in Larry Niven's novel of the same name, requires a tensile strength on the order of the forces binding an atomic nucleus together. Since no such material is thought to be possible, a ring world is therefore said to be built out of unobtainium. Unobtainium can be used in a disparaging context (e.g., "that idea is silly; you'd need unobtainium wires to hold the planet up!") or a hypothetical one ("If one were to build an unobtainium shell around a black hole's event horizon, what would happen to the material piling up on it?") The term handwavium (suggesting handwaving) is another term for this hypothetical material, as is "flangium" (from "to flange" meaning to make up something improbable, especially in fiction or interactive entertainment such as larp).
The word unobtainium is an informal one, apparently developed within science fiction fandom, and probably in ironic reaction to invented element names in, for example, Star Trek (see Treknobabble). It may also be a reference to the naming system for the heaviest actual chemical elements. In this system the letters "un" represent the digit 1 in the atomic number; for example, element number 111 was called unununium until roentgenium became the official name. In the movie The Core, one of the characters invented a material to build the hull of the craft that dug to the Earth's core — he explicitly dubbed this material unobtainium. Unobtainium also is mentioned as being used in a probability-field weapon in the Uplift Saga by David Brin. (See the list of unreasonably strong materials for more examples.)
Aerospace and electronics
Engineers occasionally use the term unobtainium when referring to unusual or costly materials, or when theoretically considering a material perfect for their needs in all respects save that it actually exists.
The word unobtainium may have instead been coined within the aerospace industry. Aerospace engineers are frequently tempted to design aircraft which require parts with strength or resilience beyond that of currently available materials.
During the development and service period of the SR-71 Blackbird spy plane, engineers working for Lockheed Corporation at the Skunk Works used the term unobtainium as a euphemism for titanium. This was not because of the radical decision to use the untried new material, but because at the time the Soviets were cornering the market in this material and were careful not to allow the American military to get hold of it.Titanium was required because of the high temperatures that the SR-71 airframe reached. Although titanium alloys have a strength/weight ratio which is much the same as aluminum alloys at room temperature, titanium maintains much of its strength at 600°C whereas aluminum weakens dramatically at this temperature. In spite of efforts by the Soviet Union to prevent it, a large quantity of titanium somehow found its way to the United States after an apparently innocent European company bought a considerable quantity. The company was in fact a front set up for this very purpose. Relatively large amounts of titanium are used in aircraft such as the F-15, F-18, and F-22 fighters and the B-1 bomber. In modern times, titanium is readily obtained.Large deposits of titanium dioxide, usually in the form of sand, exist in places such as Florida and are mined there. [Titanium dioxide is also a very widely-used paint pignment - white in color - that has essentially replaced "white lead" in coloring paints. White lead is a poison, but a person or an animal can eat virtually unlimited amounts of titanium dioxide without harm. It passes straight through, undigested.] By heating titanium dioxide with metallic sodium or potassium in an inert atmosphere (e.g. argon), metallic titanium is obtained.
In maintaining old equipment (electronic and other) unobtainium is often used to refer to replacement parts that are no longer made (e.g. many parts for reel-to-reel audio recorders used to play back archive tapes for digitization). Uncommon, or rare, vacuum tubes are often said to be made of "unobtainium" when they cost more than the equipment they are fitted to (especially true of certain tubes, such as the 1L6, used exclusively in American battery powered shortwave radios).
Modern common use
More recently "unobtainium" has come to be used among people who are neither science fiction fans nor engineers, to denote an object that actually exists, but which is very hard to obtain either because of high price or limited availability. It usually refers to a very high-end and desirable product, e.g. in the mountain biking community, "These titanium hubs are unobtainium, man!"
Oakley, Inc. has trademarked the word Unobtanium to refer to a rubber compound used on the frames of their sunglasses. This compound is designed to grip the nose and temples when it becomes wet with perspiration.
Footnotes
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