Avatar is back on the screen after 13 years with the new film production "Avatar: The Way of Water", which continues the story of the first film. In the first feature of 2009, the main element of the plot is the "Unobtainium" ore that humans need because it is a superconductor that greatly reduces energy costs and waste. On an Earth that is lacking in natural resources, the discovery of this material is very important for the survival of the human race.
With its discovery, the probabilities of the development of new technologies in the area of superconductors have increased, as the ore has an extremely strong magnetic field, its atoms are arranged in an orderly but never repetitive pattern, in addition to surpassing the efficiency and stability of existing superconductors by a thousand times.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like if this ore really existed? What would be its real-life applications? Then follow our text because we will bring you everything about Unobtainium and similar materials that you can find here on Earth.
From fiction to real life
You might think that Unobtainium came out of the creative mind of James Cameron (Director of Avatar), but that's not completely true. In fact, the Unobtainium ore is not cataloged. However, away from screens, this word is used by several scientists and engineers to designate an ideal material for a certain application, but impossible to obtain. Over the years the term has been expanded to describe real elements of the Earth that are very rare or expensive, particularly elements used in electronics.
However, even though it is not a real ore, the compound that represents it in the film is inferred to be galena. Galena was a mineral widely used in ancient Egypt for cosmetic purposes. In the modern era, its crystals were used for the production of the first radios.
Unobtainium Avatar
Galena
Currently, galena represents the largest source of lead (Pb) extraction, one of the most used metals by industry in the world.
About Lead (Pb)
Lead is the chemical element identified by the symbol Pb, has atomic number 82 and atomic mass 207.2. Its main features are:
- Low electrical conductivity;
- High density and durability;
- Ease of fusing with other chemical elements;
- Highly toxic;
At room temperature, lead can be found in its solid form, with a bluish-white color, but in contact with air its color becomes grayish.
Applications of Lead
Lead (Pb) is a metal used since antiquity. There are prehistoric traces of rudimentary furnaces, in which lead was extracted through galena.
We list below some of its applications:
- Construction of batteries for motors;
- Electrical energy accumulators;
- Glass and ceramics production;
- Production of welds;
- Plates and pipes;
- Metal alloys;
- Munitions;
What could be created with Unobtainium?
There are no materials with the same characteristics as Avatar's Unobtainium, but there are superconducting materials that have similar properties.
Superconductors are materials that reach a state of matter that has no electrical resistance (superconductivity), and does not allow the penetration of magnetic fields, that is, an electric current in a superconductor can persist indefinitely, however this state can only be reached at low temperatures.
There are currently about 6000 superconducting materials already discovered, some compounds and some polymers. Mercury, lead, carbon, and niobium-titanium are examples of superconducting materials.
Although superconductors currently do not have superconductivity at room temperature, many applications have already been developed to test their potential and the advantages of their use.
We list below some of the most important applications that have been implemented so far:
Production of electricity: In hydroelectric, thermoelectric, and nuclear power plants, there is a need to convert mechanical energy into electrical energy, so a generator is used, whose coils are made of superconducting metal alloys when properly cooled.
MRI: The machines use powerful electromagnets, which would melt normal metals due to heat. However, because superconductors have no electrical resistance, no heat is generated, and electromagnets can generate the necessary magnetic fields.
Transportation: The so-called Maglev Train, located in Shanghai/China, is the only magnetic levitation train in the world. Using the properties of superconductors, it can reach up to 500 km/h.
If Unobtainium really existed and had the same properties as film, all the applications listed above would be easily expanded, such as the Maglev Train could easily and silently reach speeds of more than 2,000 km/h and transport a passenger from São Paulo to Salvador in less than an hour, consuming less than 4 liters of diesel.
In "Avatar: The Way of Water", we follow the story 14/15 years after the first film. Earth has become an inhospitable planet, which has led to a new attempt to colonize Pandora. The film introduces a new element of Pandora, the Tulkuns, which are whale-like animals we have here on Earth. They are highly intelligent, able to communicate, and have a culture of their own. However, what makes them important to humans is their brain fluids, as they retain an enzyme that can slow down human aging, and this leads to a massive hunt for this species. Interest in Unobtainium has apparently waned, as there is no way to save the land, and with the colonization of Pandora they would have a gigantic reserve of this ore and enough resources to sustain them for a long time.
Would you like to know more about what the applications of Unobtainium and other fictional ores would be like if they really existed? We at DMT made a post on this subject and you can access it by clicking here.
References:
https://james-camerons-avatar.fandom.com/
https://www.nasa.gov/topics/technology/features/jwst-unobtainium.html
https://portaldamineracao.com.br/galena/
https://tropedia.fandom.com/wiki/Unobtainium
https://www.nasa.gov/topics/technology/features/jwst-unobtainium.html
https://www.universetoday.com/74542/jwst-built-with-unobtainium/
https://www.meteorologiaenred.com/pt/galena.html
https://extensao.cecierj.edu.br/material_didatico/qui717/pdf/chumbo.pdf
https://www.educamaisbrasil.com.br/enem/quimica/chumbo
https://www.todamateria.com.br/chumbo/
https://james-camerons-avatar.fandom.com/wiki/Unobtanium
https://planetpailly.com/2011/05/18/fictional-elements-part-1/
https://www.slashfilm.com/950236/james-cameron-explains-the-origins-behind-avatars-unobtanium/