SciFi

Unobtainium

Unobtainium is a term used to describe a material that is ideal for a specific application but is difficult or impossible to obtain. It is used in fiction, engineering, and everyday situations. Unobtainium is not a real element, but it is a real word. It is derived from the word "unobtainable" with the suffix "-ium", which is commonly used for chemical elements. The term has been used since the 1950s by scientists and engineers to describe a perfect material to solve an engineering problem, even though it doesn't exist. It is a half-serious joke in physics and engineering that denotes an ideal material for experimental components that would be desirable but unfeasible. In the movie Avatar, unobtanium is a mineral that is plentiful on the planet Pandora and is valuable to humans. It is a superconductor that is useful for fighting an energetic crisis on Earth, improving interstellar vehicles, and more. In the Star Trek universe, the equivalent of unobtainium is dilithium, and in the Transformers universe, the alloy Transformium has near-magical properties.