The concept of advanced materials in science fiction pre-dates the emergence of materials science as a discipline in its own right by quite a number of years. As far back as the 1920s and 30s, in the "Skylark" series of books, E.E. "Doc" Smith was speculating on the uses of neutronium (a super-dense material comprised solely of neutrons), the substance now thought to make up the astronomical bodies known as neutron stars. Neutron stars, however, were only discovered in the late 1960s, by which time science fiction had moved on to even greater things. The television series "Star Trek" introduced us to anti-matter, something that although scientifically postulated was not to be significantly produced until the late 1990s. Even comic books got in on the act, a prime example being the substance Adamantium, the mysterious alloy in "Marvel" comics which made the hero Wolverine's bones unbreakable.

More recently, the continued growth of the biological sciences has led science fiction to focus on the possibility of hi-tech bio-materials. From the creature-machines of Peter F. Hamilton's "Nightsdawn" trilogy to the biological computers of David Cronenberg's film "eXistenZ" and even the biological spaceships of the TV series "Farscape" and "Babylon 5", science fiction continues to produce amazing ideas and concepts for futuristic materials. One might even say that these advanced bio-materials are to wood and animal hide what a material strong enough to sustain an elevator to space would be to a simple piece of string. But fullerene tubes are that strong, and they actually exist!

 

 

 

 

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