Materials scientists use their understanding of crystalline behavior to create layered structures that can accommodate ions without tightly binding them. For example, the lithium ions (green) in this diagram are only loosely bound between the oxygen atoms (blue) and cobalt atoms (yellow).
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A polymer is a large molecule made out of many repeating subunits. The physical properties of the polymer are determined by the subunits that make it up. Polymers of varying subunits can attract or repel different substances.
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Gallium Nitride is a very hard, crystalline compound. As a semiconductor, it has a very wide band gap.
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While light travels about 300,000 kilometers per second in a vacuum, it travels more slowly in many materials. When light transitions from one material to another material, difference in the light's velocity may cause the light wave to refract (change direction).
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At very small scales, fluids can be manipulated with great precision. Microfluidics describes the behavior of fluids within channels less than one millimeter in width. Microfluidic devices can manipulate microliters (10^-6 liters) or even picoliters (10^-12 liters) of fluid.
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Any matter at thermal equilibrium with its surroundings will emit electromagnetic radiation. The wavelength emitted depends on temperature. Room temperature objects radiate infra-red light, which we perceive as heat.
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Spin is a fundamental property of electrons. Each electron can be either "spin up" or "spin down" and this may affect how it interacts with electrical currents and magnetic fields.
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Many modern technologies seem to work in almost magical ways. Yet, all of these technologies are based on real world science. The discoveries of scientists and engineers often allow us to create and manipulate new materials. New materials can change how we live.

Click on the five items above and see if you can match them with the materials discoveries that made them possible.

The "Bird's Nest" Chinese national stadium in Beijing,
using LED technology supplied by US company Cree.

Photo courtesy of Cree.
LED Lighting
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Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) push flowing electrons across a semiconducting material. When electrons fall from a higher to a lower energy state within the semiconductor they emit photons (light). The wavelength (color) of the light is determined by the band gap (the difference between energy states) of the semiconductor. For many years, LEDs could only be manufactured with small band gaps, producing only low wavelength light (red, yellow, or green).

What materials discovery changed this?

Click on each discovery to learn more about it. >>

Incorrect.
There is a better answer.

CORRECT! In 1993, the development of gallium nitride materials enabled blue and white LEDs, finally completing the LED color spectrum. Today, LED lights are longer-lived and more energy efficiency than most other types of lighting. LEDs are found in traffic lights, video screens, and everything in between.

  • A Lithium Cobalt Oxide
  • B Polymer Membranes
  • C Gallium Nitride Semiconductors
  • D Refraction
  • E Microfluidics
  • F Blackbody Radiation
  • G Spintronics
Medical Lab-On-A-Chip
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Many blood tests require a vial of blood and several hours of laboratory work. Soon, doctors will be able to perform the same tests in 10 minutes using a single drop of blood and a 'lab-on-a-chip.' These devices are no bigger than a credit card, but can be designed to perform a wide range of simple, fast, and cheap medical and genetic tests.

What materials discovery enables such a small device?

Incorrect.
There is a better answer.

CORRECT! Lab-on-a-chip technology harnesses the properties of microfluidics to manipulate and identify small molecules, like hemoglobin and DNA. Cheap medical tests could improve healthcare, especially in the world's poorest regions.

  • A Lithium Cobalt Oxide
  • B Polymer Membranes
  • C Gallium Nitride Semiconductors
  • D Refraction
  • E Microfluidics
  • F Blackbody Radiation
  • G Spintronics
Cellphone Batteries
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All batteries store energy in chemical bonds and release energy by allowing ions from those bonds to flow from a high energy state to a low energy state. Cellphones, laptops, and electric cars all require light-weight and powerful batteries that can recharge many times.

What materials discovery enabled such a rechargeable battery?

Incorrect.
There is a better answer.

CORRECT! The lithium-ion battery boasts a high energy-to-weight ratio and can hold a charge for a long time. The superior performance of these batteries is due to the crystalline structure of the materials that they're made of, which allow lithium ions to bind loosely between layers of oxygen and other elements. When the battery is charged, the lithium ions can move easily out of the crystalline structure to other, higher energy bonds.

  • A Lithium Cobalt Oxide
  • B Polymer Membranes
  • C Gallium Nitride Semiconductors
  • D Refraction
  • E Microfluidics
  • F Blackbody Radiation
  • G Spintronics
Computer Memory
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The information in computer hard drives is stored in memory bits, like tiny compass needles that can be switched between pointing north and pointing south. To increase the speed and data capacity of computer memory, computer engineers seek to make the bits smaller and more tightly packed.

What materials discovery made memory bits smaller?

Incorrect.
There is a better answer.

CORRECT! In special materials, the spin states of electrons can be set within a tiny area. As the image shows, by altering the spin of electrons in the top layer of a computer hard drive, the material will either conduct or block electrical current, recording binary information. The field of spintronics uses electron spin to improve electronics.

  • A Lithium Cobalt Oxide
  • B Polymer Membranes
  • C Gallium Nitride Semiconductors
  • D Refraction
  • E Microfluidics
  • F Blackbody Radiation
  • G Spintronics
Clean Water
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11% of the world population lacks clean drinking water.

What materials discovery will easily remove salt, bacteria, and dangerous chemicals from drinking water?

Incorrect.
There is a better answer.

CORRECT! Membranes are used to separate water from contaminants in many methods of water filtration. However, most membranes are easily clogged and must be frequently cleaned or replaced. Researchers are designing new polymer membranes that allow water through while repelling contaminants. The diagram to the left shows how this works at a molecular level (10^-9 meters). The dark purple polymers attract water (blue) while repelling contaminant molecules (orange). The light purple polymers provide a backbone of support.

  • A Lithium Cobalt Oxide
  • B Polymer Membranes
  • C Gallium Nitride Semiconductors
  • D Refraction
  • E Microfluidics
  • F Blackbody Radiation
  • G Spintronics

Congratulations!

You've matched all five products to the material disconveries that made them possible.These are just a few of the many materials disconveries that affect out lives. Future discoveries made by curious women and men-maybe by you- will undoubtedly enable new technologies and further improve our world.

To learn more about these five discoveries, check out the National Research Council Report, Harvesting the Fruits of Inquiry.

Three researchers received the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery that made white-light LEDs possible.
Labs-on-chips, including the integrated fluidic circuit shown here, can be considered the biological equivalent of an integrated circuit, like those found in your computer.
Cellphones and other small electronic devices depend upon compact, high density energy sources provided by the latest generation batteries.
Computer hard drives are able to increase their data-holding capacity through new materials developments.
Providing the world access to clean water requires developing cheap and efficient ways of removing impurities.

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