December 1, 2013

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Supercomputer-Driven Materials Design [Slide Show]

How scientists are using computing power to design new materials from scratch

By Seth Fletcher

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The job of a materials scientist—to warp matter into new and useful forms—has historically involved a ridiculous amount of guesswork. That’s because the quantum-mechanical equations that determine the properties of a material are so fiendishly difficult to compute. But the brute force of modern supercomputing is changing things. A scientist can now program a computer to screen tens of thousands of chemical compounds at a time, looking for those that have the properties she needs. This technique, called high-throughput computing, is revealing new chemical compounds never seen in nature. Here's a look.

Seth Fletcher is director of editorial content at Scientific American. His book Einstein's Shadow (Ecco, 2018), on the Event Horizon Telescope and the quest to take the first picture of a black hole, was excerpted in the New York Times Magazine and named a New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice. His book Bottled Lightning (2011) was the first definitive account of the invention of the lithium-ion battery and the 21st-century rebirth of the electric car. His writing has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, the New York Times op-ed page, Popular Science, Fortune, Men's Journal, Outside and other publications. His television and radio appearances have included CBS’s Face the Nation, NPR’s Fresh Air, the BBC World Service, and NPR’s Morning Edition, Science Friday, Marketplace and The Takeaway. He has a master’s degree from the Missouri School of Journalism and a bachelor’s degrees in English and philosophy from the University of Missouri.

More by Seth Fletcher
Scientific American Magazine Vol 309 Issue 6This article was published with the title “Supercomputer-Driven Materials Design [Slide Show]” in Scientific American Magazine Vol. 309 No. 6 ()
doi:10.1038/scientificamerican122013-2PSIsK04y6Cme3yOGqlDxi
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