Buildings
Structure, lining, insulation or finish depending on family.
Nitinol · Near-equiatomic Ni–Ti that remembers shape and super-elasticates — stents, orthodontics and actuators.
Nitinol earns its keep in systems: a beam, a batt, a fibre blend, a coated steel — rarely a lone coupon.
Products below are cultural landmarks as much as SKUs.
Structure, lining, insulation or finish depending on family.
Mass, fire and fatigue rewrite the grade list.
Heat, voltage and hydrogen compatibility.
The volume that pays for the mill.
When allowed — extractables and allergies matter.
Ballistics, FR clothing, fire stops.
1959
1970s–
1990s–
1970s
1980s–
1990s–
2010s–
lab
The medical metal without the phase trick.
Cheap springs that do not remember.
Soft medical rival in tubing.
Another lab celebrity with thinner products.
If the pairing is wrong, the material will be blamed for a system fault.
Polymer-derived filaments with graphite-like sheets — aero, bikes and a fire story that is about the resin, not the fibre.
Overall 49 ⬡A one-atom carbon sheet — Nobel-era physics, composites hype, and a few honest electronics and barrier uses.
Overall 50 ☁️A nanoscale silica sponge — among the lowest solid λ values, fragile unless blanketed, and A1 when purely inorganic.
Overall 60 ☀️ABX3 halide crystals that jumped laboratory solar efficiency — still fighting humidity, lead and lifetime.
Overall 26