When someone asks me why would I consider immortality (if ever), I always tell them that I am a technology enthusiast and it is one thing that always keeps advancing no matter what and it is all very exciting to me.

I mean, I am always in awe of how far we have already come in the short amount of time I have been on this planet and the things we are already capable of. This plunges me into a state of wonder at what we will be able to do within my lifetime and beyond.

As the saying goes, the science fiction of today is the reality of tomorrow and this has been proven time and again. There are a huge number of people working on several fields that are so cool that they will change our lives a hundred times over.

Today, I want to talk about innovations coming out of one such field and that is material sciences, which basically involves the discovery and design of new materials, which forms the basis of engineering new technology into the real world. So, let’s dive in to some futuristic materials that will change the world.

1. Aerogel

So, you know what regular gel is right? It is a liquid type material that acts like a solid. Well, an aerogel is all that except, the liquid part has been replaced with a gas, that gives it some incredible properties, like being 98.2% empty space.

Aerogel holds 15 Guinness Book records and is also called frozen smoke, solid air, solid smoke and solid cloud. Even though it is so light, it is rigid and can support a lot of weight. They are also very good thermal insulators.

Right now it’s costly to manufacture this material but when the costs come down, it will be widely used. Current applications include use in space suits and space crafts with future applications ranging from military uses, industrial insulation, supercapacitors, drug delivery system, and so many other places.

2. Superhydrophobic Materials

In lay man’s terms, superhydrophobic materials are highly water proof materials. They literally repel liquids from their surface and it is so cool to watch how a coating of these materials transform everyday objects.

Scientists have been trying to mimic natural examples of hydrophobicity like in lotus leaves. To do this, they are making use of nanoparticles that can act as a barrier between liquid and other objects, though mass production is still a challenge.

Potential applications include making electronics completely waterproof, in the development of micro fuel cell chips, coating on planes and cars to precent ice accumulation in cold temperatures,

3. Aluminium Oxynitride

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This material is a ceramic that is composed of aluminum, oxygen and nitrogen and is often referred to as transparent aluminum, though that is incorrect. What is most interesting about this material is that it is transparent!

But wait, there is more, it is also 3 times stronger than steel! So, you can only imagine the number of applications for this particular material. You could build skyscrapers that are transparent but really strong too, it could be used in futuristic space crafts, airplanes where there are much larger viewing areas.

Applications also include, bulletproof windows, semiconductor related applications, and so on. Right now, as with other exotic materials, it is too expensive to produce and as such, its use is very limited.

4. Graphene

Graphene is being called a wonder material and rightly so. It is an allotrope of carbon and is 10 times stronger than steel, but what is most interesting about it, is the enormous applications and industries that it could revolutionize.

Graphene is excellent for electronic uses including but not limited to transistors, electrodes, sensors, etc. It also has a plethora of uses in the medical field like drug delivery, tissue engineering, and much more. Not only that, it can also be used for energy generation and storage which are in grave need of a revolution.

It can also be used for water filtration and desalination, which if achieved, could solve the water problems of the whole world. No reason, it is being called the holy grail of materials.