| Sumario: | Part of a special section on technological innovations. Gerbrand Cedar, a scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is using the laws of physics to calculate new and better materials. The advantage of designing materials with software—rather than conducting hand-on experiments in the laboratory—is that every variable can be precisely controlled by a computer. Cedar utilizes the rules of quantum mechanics to compute the properties of a theoretical structure; he then tinkers with the structure, by adding or removing atoms, until he discovers a material with the properties that manufacturers are demanding. The new method has already been successfully utilized by Cedar to design a metal oxide, which gives batteries a longer life. Surprisingly, few companies who depend on materials science have adopted the new techniques.
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