Composites

While the 20th century saw the main quality improvements of materials through ongoing development of new alloys, the paradigm of the 21st century is the optimization by either the creation of (metal matrix) composites or by joining different materials to provide the best properties in any given place of a component. An example is the housing of a (mobile) internal combustion engine made e.g. from aluminum or steel for highest strength at lowest weight with copper inserts at local hotspots to dissipate heat that otherwise would negatively impact the intended use. Another example is superconductors consisting of superconducting filaments embedded in a copper matrix. The filaments serve as the main conductors in normal operation while the copper absorbs the excess energy in case of superconductivity breakdown that otherwise would destroy the system.