Answer 1:
The MRL where we work does a lot of fantastic
things, but we don't discover new elements. For
the most part, all the elements we know have
already been discovered. We work on making new
materials. A material is usually made of
several elements, and we are interested in using
them to fill important roles in technology. For
example, you may have heard about
superconductors, or you may be familiar with the
displays on cell phones or the flat-panel
monitor you're using to view this website! All
these materials have materials that are designed
and engineered for specific purposes, and often
a device will have many different materials, all
with different functions. For example, the
screen, must be hard to be scratch-resistant,
but must not be brittle because we do not want
it to break if it is dropped! The case will
likely be a plastic or a metal, each of which
have their own advantages and disadvantages. The
computer chips inside are highly-engineered
semiconductors, and even the wiring that
electrically connects the components has been
chosen for its conductivity, melting point, flow
properties, and corrosion resistance.
I don't know if I have a "best" experiment,
but there are certainly some conclusions we
arrive to that end up being quite elegant. An
elegant solution is always a pleasure to
achieve, although it never happens as frequently
as we would like!
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