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JOM Materials Fiction Countdown Nominees
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Voting for the JOM Materials Fiction Countdown is now closed. The Top Ten Greatest Works of Materials Fiction will be announced in the July 2015 issue of JOM. In the meantime, read the February JOM 2014 article to find out how the final list of nominees was determined and click here to view the original 62 candidates submitted by JOM readers. Thanks to everyone who participated and made the Countdown a success!
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Atlas Shrugged
by Ayn Rand 		Description: In a dystopian future, Dagny Taggert, vice president of operations for Taggart Transcontinental, sets out to repair her railroad’s deteriorating Rio Norte Line to provide service to Colorado, the last great industrial center in the world. She turns to Hank Rearden and his Rearden Metal, a revolutionary, experimental alloy to save her business, despite government interference and conspiracy against industrial progress.

Materials Connections: Hank Rearden, a brilliant metallurgist and engineer, is a hero for trying to stand up to attempts to control production of his metal. In general, Atlas Shrugged explores the potential impact of minerals, metals, and materials science and engineering on the economy and social order.

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Cat's Cradle
by Kurt Vonnegut 		Description: Felix Hoenikker, an eccentric scientist, secretly invents ice-nine, a substance with the potential of solidifying all the water on earth. Upon his death, his children divide the ice-nine among themselves and use it for their own gain.

Materials Connections: The original purpose of ice-nine was relatively benign—to solidify mud in swamps so that soldiers would be able to march through them more easily. As the story unfolds, it demonstrates how profoundly materials science can change the world and how abuse of that power can have disastrous, unintended consequences.

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Contact
by Carl Sagan 		Description: An extraterrestrial civilization from the Vega star system embeds instructions and blueprints in a radio transmission to Earth for a machine designed to transport five people to an unknown location

Materials Connections: A critical component of the machine is an erbium dowel. Making the machine operational requires two tons of erbium at 96 percent purity. Contact was published in 1985, well before the more recent advances in rare earth element production. Two tons of erbium, at the time, exceeded the annual global supply. For this reason, a significant plot point in the book is the process of extracting erbium from ore, following the detailed instructions transmitted by the extraterrestrials.

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The Cross-Time Engineer
by Leo Frankowski 		Description: Conrad Stargard is a Polish engineer from the 1980s who is accidently transported to the year 1231. He realizes that the Mongols are due to invade Poland in about ten years, killing most of the population of Central Europe in their wake. Stargard makes it his mission to use his modern engineering knowledge to change history by establishing Poland as an industrial and military powerhouse capable of defeating the Mongol Horde.

Materials Connections: Introducing advancements in extractive metallurgy and steel making are a few of the materials-focused strategies that Stargard employs to establish the industrial base that he envisions to support his planned defense of Poland.

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The Dark Knight Returns
by Frank Miller 		Description: Batman/Bruce Wayne comes out of retirement in this landmark graphic novel to take on an ultra-violent gang terrorizing Gotham City. Seeing Batman as a threat to its authority, the corrupt government that now runs this apocalyptic world dispatches Superman to kill him. While Superman clearly has the edge over him physically, Batman manages to defeat him by virtue of his cunning, engineering genius, and indomitable will.

Materials Connections: Batman has always been about the gadgets, but never more so than in this tale, as he is compelled to compensate for his aging body and diminished physical prowess. Advanced materials play a key role in his victory, from his futuristic suit of armor, to a fortified version of the Batmobile, to synthetic Kryptonite that he has created in his laboratory.

Additional Information


Atlas Shrugged
by Ayn Rand

Materials Connections

Cat’s Cradle
by Kurt Vonnegut

Materials Connections

Contact
by Carl Sagan

Materials Connections

The Cross-Time Engineer
by Leo Frankowski

Materials Connections

The Dark Knight Returns
by Frank Miller

Materials Connections
 

Days of Future Past
by Chris Claremont and John Byrne 		Description: Published in 1981, this graphic novel paints a bleak portrait of the year 2013, in which cruel repression against humans with mutant superpowers is enforced by technologically advanced robots called Sentinels. A nuclear strike is being planned on North America to prevent the Sentinels from conquering the world. The few mutant heroes known as X-Men who have survived the Sentinel invasion send the consciousness of one of their own—Kitty Pryde—back in time to avert the incident that sparked the anti-mutant hysteria in the first place and potentially change the future.

Materials Connections: Many of the X-Men in this storyline have materials-enabled superpowers. They include Wolverine (near-indestructible adamantium infused in his skeleton), Colossus (ability to turn his flesh into steel at will), and Magneto (power over magnetic fields that enables him to manipulate metals and other magnetic materials).

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The Diamond Age
by Neal Stephenson 		Description: Set in a future world where nanotechnology dominates all aspects of life, the story follows a poor, uneducated girl named Nell as she learns to think for herself with the aid of an illegal, interactive "primer."

Materials Connections: The book’s title refers to a new "material age" of human progress, in which technology makes it possible to produce a solid diamond at will. The Diamond Age is rich in technical details about a society dependent on bottom-up nanotechnology and Drexleresque "assemblers" that harness materials atom-by-atom into useable goods and even artificial islands.

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Dragon's Egg/Starquake
by Robert L. Forward 		Description: Presented as a set for voting consideration, Dragon’s Egg and its sequel, Starquake, describe the evolution of an alien technology and civilization that exist on a neutron star with a surface gravity 67 billion times that of Earth.

Materials Connections: Cheela, the intelligent beings the size of a sesame seed who live on the star, create fantastic machines from an array of novel materials such as monopole magnets. Also in this world, neutronium, a theoretical state of matter, can and does exist.

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Foundation (trilogy)
by Isaac Asimov 		Description: In a set of collected works that encompass a thousand-year galactic struggle, the reader follows the efforts of Hari Seldon who uses the fictional science of psychohistory to mathematically predict the downfall of civilization and a subsequent dark age of 30,000 years. Hoping to cut short this approaching epoch of barbarism, Seldon works to create the Foundation of artisans and engineers as a means of preserving and expanding on humanity’s collective knowledge.

Materials Connections: As with any advanced society, materials play an important role in the development of the Foundation. Examples of this can be found in such devices as individual atomic shields and a transmuter that turns iron into gold.

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Game of Thrones (Song of Ice and Fire series)
by George R.R. Martin 		Description: A dizzying array of characters gives life to the medieval land of Westeros as warring dynasties try to lay claim to the ultimate seat of power, the Iron Throne.

Materials Connections: One of the gods worshiped by much of Westeros is the Smith, who represents creation, craftsmanship, and strength. This is indicative of the practical and symbolic importance of metalworking in Westeros society, with the lost art of forging Valyrian steel (very reminiscent of Damascus steel) considered the apex achievement in this regard. The maesters, the order of scholars and scientists that advise Westeros nobility, indicate their proficiency in various fields with links of different metals corresponding to specific courses of study added to a chain around their necks. Obsidian is fashioned into a weapon to kill a supernatural enemy, and the characteristics of swords, helms, and shields are used to define the characters who wield them. And then, of course, there’s that Iron Throne.

Additional Information

- Valyrian Steel

- Maester's Chains

- General Description


Days of Future Past
by Chris Claremont and John Byrne

Materials Connections

The Diamond Age
by Neal Stephenson

Materials Connections

Dragon's Egg/Starquake
by Robert L. Forward

Materials Connections

Foundation (trilogy)
by Isaac Asimov

Materials Connections

Game of Thrones (Song of Ice and Fire series)
by George R.R. Martin

Materials Connections
 

The Iliad
by Homer 		Description: Set in the latter days of the Trojan War, this touchstone epic poem presents the tragic consequences of pride, rage, and uncontrolled grief through the story of Achilles, the greatest warrior in the Greek army.

Materials Connections: Armor is much more than a protective covering in the Illiad, with many key plot points turning on the suitability of the armor to the soldier wearing it. This is especially true of the divine armor and shield forged by the god Hephaestus for Achilles that enable him to defeat and slay Hector outside the gates of Troy. Numerous descriptions of "cruel bronze" weaponry are also featured throughout, as well passages devoted to describing how those weapons are made.

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The Iron Giant
by Ted Hughes 		Description: In this children’s book written by a British poet laureate, a mysterious being constructed entirely of metal appears out of nowhere in the English countryside, ingesting farm equipment and scrap metal to sustain himself. He eventually becomes an accepted member of the community and ultimately saves the world. The book was originally released in the United Kingdom in 1968 as The Iron Man.

Materials Connections: Aside from the idea that the main character is made out of (and eats) metal, the key material moment in the story occurs when the metal giant wagers that he can withstand the heat of burning petroleum longer than an invading alien can endure the heat of the sun. They then duel to their respective melting points.

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The Kalevala
by Elias Lönnrot 		Description: As the national epic poem of Finland, The Kalevala compiles Finnish folk stories, poetry, and myth handed down through the ages by oral tradition.

Materials Connections: While earth, air, fire and water are the four classical elements, The Kalevala elevates iron to the same stature as a reflection of its importance to Finnish history and culture. Rune IX is devoted to telling the Origin of Iron, describing in detail the raw materials needed for iron making, the process itself, potential problems or challenges in making iron, and three different types of possible products ("dark and ductile iron" or malleable steel; "iron lighter-colored" or hardenable steel, and "red and brittle iron" or white cast iron). In addition, a pivotal, recurring element throughout the work is the Sampo, a magical artifact forged by the blacksmith god Seppo Ilmarinen, the Eternal Hammerer.

Additional Information

- Rune IX

- Rune X

- Additional Details


Lord of the Rings (trilogy)
by J.R.R. Tolkien 		Description: In the fictional realm of Middle Earth, Frodo Baggins, a Hobbit, embarks on a treacherous quest to destroy the One Ring, an ancient weapon forged by the Dark Lord Sauron to conquer the world.

Materials Connections: Much of the metal and metalworking in Lord of the Rings yields magical properties, with many of these artifacts playing a key role in advancing the action of the story. Mithril, mined by Dwarves in the mountains of Moria and fashioned into armor, is described as being light, but harder than tempered steel. Swords and knives forged by Elves glow blue in the presence of Orcs, a race of evil, humanoid creatures, while other blades have been enchanted to inflict wounds on the soul as well as the body. The One Ring itself is made of a mystical material that can only be destroyed in the flames of Mount Doom in Mordor, where it was forged.

Additional Information


The Magic Engineer
by L.E. Modesitt Jr. 		Description: An installment in Modesitt’s Saga of Recluse series, The Magic Engineer follows the story of Dorin, a young magician who has been exiled for his interest in using forbidden knowledge to invent dangerous machines.

Materials Connections: Dorin is a blacksmith with healing powers and a passion for pursuing scientific knowledge, even when it violates the rules. He generally infuses his iron working with magical qualities as he designs and builds his machines and weapons.

Additional Information


The Iliad
by Homer

Materials Connections

The Iron Giant
by Ted Hughes

Materials Connections

The Kalevala
by Elias Lönnrot

Materials Connections

Lord of the Rings (trilogy)
by J.R.R. Tolkien

Materials Connections

The Magic Engineer
by L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Materials Connections
 

Mars (trilogy)
by Kim Stanley Robinson 		Description: This series of novels chronicles the colonization and terraforming of the planet Mars and the scientific advances that these experiences spawn, while Earth slowly succumbs to ecological disaster.

Materials Connections: In particular, Red Mars, the first book in the series, deals seriously with a wide range of scientific problems and techniques. These include sublimation and evaporation, processes that are used regularly in real-world materials science and engineering.

Additional Information


Merchant of Venice
by William Shakespeare 		Description: Portia is a beautiful, virtuous, wealthy woman being wooed by numerous suitors. Her father’s will stipulates she must marry the man who chooses a casket containing her picture from a set of three.

Materials Connections: The three caskets are made from gold, silver, and lead. Each casket also bears an inscription that is somewhat reflective of its respective material. (The inscription on the gold casket, for instance, is "Who chooseth me shall gain what many men desire.") The inscriptions and material characteristics of the caskets are the only clues that the suitors are given to win Portia’s hand.

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Mysterious Island
by Jules Verne 		Description: Five prisoners of war escape captivity during the American Civil War in a hot air balloon, only to crash on an uncharted island. Fortunately, one member of the party is an engineer who is largely responsible for their survival. They are also aided by a reclusive Captain Nemo who now lives on the island following his adventures in the Verne novel, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.

Materials Connections: The brilliant engineer, Cyrus Smith, is the hero of the book as he cleverly deploys the materials available to him to make pottery, bricks, nitroglycerin, iron, a simple electric telegraph, and a seaworthy ship, among other things.

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No Highway
by Nevil Shute 		Description: Theodore Honey is a metallurgist who specializes in fatigue testing of aluminum airframes. His research uncovers a deadly flaw in the tailplane of a new airliner, the fictional Rutland Reindeer. Much of the book focuses on how he tries to convince the world the Reindeer be declared unfit for service.

Materials Connections: While Honey is not the most sympathetic of heroes, his dogged determination to analyze and reveal the materials flaw in the Rutland Reindeer is at the heart of this book. Through hours of fatigue testing, he is able to predict almost exactly when the tailplane on the airliner will fail. This informs one of the more memorable sequences in the book, when Honey finds himself on a Reindeer on his way to examine a crash site in Canada.

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Poseidon's Arrow
by Clive Cussler and Dirk Cussler 		Description: An evil millionaire plots to seize a secret prototype attack submarine to sell on the black market. He is also bent on monopolizing most of the world’s rare earth mining operations since the secret weapons that he plans to steal rely on rare earth elements.

Materials Connections: The technical details related to rare earth elements are generally rooted in reality. The Mountain Pass rare earth mine in California and Mount Weld mine site in Australia are both accurately described, along with the extraction process. Ames National Laboratory gets a mention, too, as the (fictional) producer of high performance magnets for new weapons systems.

Additional Information


Mars (trilogy)
by Kim Stanley Robinson

Materials Connections

Merchant of Venice
by William Shakespeare

Materials Connections

Mysterious Island
by Jules Verne

Materials Connections

No Highway
by Nevil Shute

Materials Connections

Poseidon's Arrow
by Clive Cussler and Dirk Cussler

Materials Connections
 

Profession
by Isaac Asimov 		Description: In a clearly fictional future, engineers and scientists are the sports heroes of the day, with spectators paying to watch them compete at solving engineering problems in an arena setting.

Materials Connections: The protagonist of this short story, George Platen, attends the Metallurgy Olympics to watch his best friend, Trevelyan compete. Trevelyan is categorized as a Metallurgist, Non-Ferrous. His Olympic dreams are brought to an end, unfortunately, when he performs poorly on a new device called the Beeman spectrograph.

Additional Information


River God
by Wilbur Smith 		Description: This tale of political intrigue, war, and romance in ancient Egypt is told from the viewpoint of Taita, a multi-talented slave who is highly adept at replicating and improving upon the design of weapons and chariots.

Materials Connections: Many of the issues that Taita and other characters encounter in designing superior chariot wheels and more lethal bows are focused on the materials, with detailed descriptions of how to overcome materials challenges or get the most benefit out of certain materials properties.

Additional Information


Sinclair, Wonder Bear
by Malorie Blackman 		Description: In a story written for beginning readers, Sinclair, a superhero teddy bear, flies around the world at night to save those in danger.

Materials Connections: Sinclair’s superpower is his ability to transform himself into different materials that can address a particular peril. For instance, he changes into steel to mend a broken train track and turns himself into a powerful magnet to free a trapped dog.

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Sublimation
by W.M. Goldberger 		Description: Marvin Khorbin, a brilliant young scientist, is murdered and the case goes unsolved. A New York Times reporter, Jim Schaap, decides to investigate it as the subject of a book, compelling him to dig deeply into the culture of scientific research and development.

Materials Connections: Khorbin has pioneered the development of a fractional sublimation process that can be used for the separation of volatile metal chlorides. As suggested in the book, his research can potentially be used as the basis for a low-cost means of uranium enrichment. The novel is also replete with descriptions based on actual projects and technical advancements in minerals and metallurgical processing.

Additional Information


The Vanished Diamond: Star of the South
by Jules Verne 		Description: Victor Cyprien, a French mining engineer living in the diamond fields of Griqualand, South Africa, turns to chemistry to pursue a theory that diamonds can be synthesized in the laboratory.

Materials Connections: The book’s title refers to the 243 carat blue diamond that Cyprien manages to create through a process that combines high temperature and high pressure.

Additional Information


Profession
by Isaac Asimov

Materials Connections

River God
by Wilbur Smith

Materials Connections

Sinclair, Wonder Bear
by Malorie Blackman

Materials Connections

Sublimation
by W.M. Goldberger

Materials Connections

The Vanished Diamond: Star of the South
by Jules Verne

Materials Connections

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