Chemistry & Materials

244 advances: 222 achieved, 6 at the frontier now, 16 ahead.

The frontier

• Electrocatalyst 2022 · frontier
  Catalyst participating in electrochemical or redox reactions.
• AI materials discovery 2023 · frontier
  DeepMind GNoME predicts 2.2M crystals, 2023.
• CoWoS for AI accelerators at scale 2023 · frontier
  Packaging capacity became the H100 supply constraint.
• GNoME 2.2M new crystals 2023 · frontier
  Predicted 381k stable materials (Nature, Nov 2023).
• Spider silk 2023 · frontier
  Filament material produced by spiders. Researchers report a production method for spider silk fibers from gene-edited transgenic silkworms for a sustainable alternative material six times stronger than Kevlar.
• Backside power delivery 2024 · frontier
  Intel PowerVia (Intel 18A, 2025).
• Nanomachines (molecular assemblers) · future · progress: none
  Drexler-style molecular nanotechnology: programmable machines that build almost anything atom by atom, from diamondoid structures to medical nanobots. It is engineering-limited, not physics-limited, but no one has yet demonstrated a general assembler.
• Chemically exact molecular simulation · future · progress: early
  Predicting reactions, catalysts, and molecular machines from first principles before synthesis. This is the design tool for nanotech, batteries, drugs, and superconductors.
• Inverse materials design · future · progress: demonstrated
  Specify the properties and AI returns a synthesizable material. It is already producing millions of candidate crystals.
• Room-temperature, ambient-pressure superconductor · future · progress: none
  A material that superconducts without cooling or crushing pressure. It is not known to exist (tier 3, an open question in condensed-matter physics), but it would transform grids, magnets, and computing.
• Programmable DNA nanomachines · future · progress: demonstrated
  DNA origami and DNA walkers that position molecules with nanometre precision. This is a working toolkit for building at the molecular scale.
• Scanning-probe mechanosynthesis · future · progress: early
  Placing individual atoms with a probe tip to form covalent bonds on command. Simple cases have been shown (Si atom manipulation); general reliability has not.
• Defect-free carbon nanomaterials at scale · future · progress: early
  Kilometre-long nanotubes and wafer-scale graphene without defects. These are the materials for space tethers, superconductors, and nanomachines.
• Atomically precise manufacturing · future · progress: early
  Building products with every atom in its designed place: the bridge between biology's machines and Drexler's assemblers.
• Diamondoid mechanosynthesis at scale · future · progress: none
  Showing that stiff diamondoid structures can be assembled reliably, answering the Drexler–Smalley "fat fingers" objection in practice.
• Programmable molecular assemblers · future · progress: none
  General-purpose machines that build other products, including copies of themselves, from molecular feedstock.
• Programmable metamaterials · future · progress: demonstrated
  Materials whose mechanical, optical, and thermal properties are designed in, from heat shields to cloaks for the radiation environment.
• Atom-level recycling · future · progress: early
  Plasma separation and molecular sorting return any waste stream to pure feedstock, closing the loop on matter.
• Engineered super-greenhouse gas production · future · progress: early
  Factories releasing fluorinated gases to warm Mars by tens of degrees.
• Synthetic molecular motors · future · progress: demonstrated
  Chemist-designed rotors, shuttles, and switches (Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2016), the first artificial molecular machines.
• Atomic-resolution chemical imaging · future · progress: deploying
  Seeing every atom and bond in a working molecular system, the quality-control tool for atomically precise manufacturing.
• Self-healing materials · future · progress: demonstrated
  Polymers, concretes, and alloys that repair cracks autonomously, critical for structures far from human maintenance.

How we got here

• Gigacasting (Model Y) 2020 · achieved
  IDRA Giga Press single-piece underbody.
• CoWoS advanced packaging 2012 · achieved
  TSMC's 2.5D silicon interposer, first used for Xilinx Virtex-7; now the AI GPU bottleneck.
• Carbon nanotube 2010 · achieved
  Allotropes of carbon with a cylindrical nanostructure. industrial-scale production of carbon nanotubes
• Multiple patterning 2009 · achieved
  Double and quadruple patterning extended 193i to 7 nm.
• High-k metal gate 2007 · achieved
  Intel 45 nm (Penryn).
• Graphene 2004 · achieved
  Two-dimensional crystalline structure of carbon. Creation of Graphene by Russian-born, British physicists Konstantin Novoselov and Andre Geim at the University of Manchester. They were awarded with Nobel Prize in Physics for this discovery in 2010.
• Strained silicon 2003 · achieved
  Intel 90 nm.
• 300 mm wafers 2001 · achieved
  The first 300 mm fabs (Infineon, TSMC, Intel), about 2001.
• Silicon on insulator (SOI) 1998 · achieved
  IBM SOI in production; Smart Cut wafers (Soitec).
• Copper interconnect 1997 · achieved
  IBM's damascene copper.
• Electron crystallography 1995 · achieved
  1995 - Douglas L. Dorset published Structural Electron Crystallography, a major text on electron crystallography.
• Hammer mill 1995 · achieved
  Workshop used to manufacture wrought iron products. The screenless hammer mill, like regular hammer mills, is used to pound grain.
• Electroactive polymer 1992 · achieved
  Polymer that exhibits a change in size or shape when stimulated by an electric field. 1992 – Electroactive polymers (artificial muscle) – SRI International
• Crystallographic Information File 1991 · achieved
  File format for representing crystallographic information. 1991 - The crystallographic information file (CIF) format was introduced by Sydney R. Hall, Frank H. Allen, and I. David Brown based on the self-defining text archive and retrieval (STAR) file format developed by Sydney R. Hall.
• Silicon-germanium 1989 · achieved
  Chemical compound. Silicon–germanium transistors IBM fellow Bernie Meyerson
• Atom probe 1988 · achieved
  Field ion microscope coupled with a mass spectrometer. 1988: Alfred Cerezo, Terence Godfrey, and George D. W. Smith applied a position-sensitive detector to the atom probe, making it able to resolve materials in three dimensions with near-atomic resolution.
• High temperature superconductor 1986 · achieved
  Materials that behave as superconductors at unusually high temperatures. 1986 – The first high temperature superconductor is discovered by Georg Bednorz and K. Alex Müller
• Fullerene 1985 · achieved
  Class of allotropes of carbon. 1985 – The first fullerene molecule discovered by scientists at Rice University ( see also: Timeline of carbon nanotubes )
• Chemical-mechanical planarization 1985 · achieved
  IBM.
• Stereolithography 1983 · achieved
  Form of 3D printing that uses photopolymerization. 1983: Stereolithography is invented by Chuck Hull.
• Quasicrystal 1982 · achieved
  Chemical structure. 2011 - Dan Shechtman received the Nobel Prize in chemistry "for the discovery of quasicrystals."
• Neodymium magnet 1982 · achieved
  Type of magnet. Neodymium magnet
• Chemically amplified photoresist 1982 · achieved
  Ito, Willson and Fréchet (IBM).
• Duplex stainless steel 1980 · achieved
  Stainless steel with an austeno-ferritic microstructure. 1980 – Duplex stainless steels developed which resist oxidation in chlorides
• Living building material 1974 · achieved
  Construction material. 1974 – Scientists invent the first biocement for industrial applications.
• Atomic layer deposition 1974 · achieved
  Suntola (Finland); it became critical for high-k films.
• Scanning transmission electron microscopy 1970 · achieved
  Type of transmission electron microscope. 1970 - Albert Crewe demonstrated imaging of single atoms in a scanning transmission electron microscopy.
• Cubic zirconia 1970 · achieved
  Material. The first commercially viable process to manufacture cubic zirconia.
• Corning low-loss fiber 1970 · achieved
  17 dB/km, Maurer, Keck and Schultz.
• Ion implantation 1970~ · achieved
  Replaced diffusion for precise doping.
• Plasma etching 1970~ · achieved
  Dry anisotropic etch.
• Ultrapure water and electronic chemicals 1970~ · achieved
  Fabs need ppt-level purity water, gases and chemicals.
• Rietveld refinement 1967 · achieved
  Technique for use in the characterisation of crystalline materials. 1967 - Hugo Rietveld invented the Rietveld refinement method for computation of crystal structures.
• AstroTurf 1964 · achieved
  Brand of artificial turf. Artificial turf, or synthetic turf, is a man-made surface made to look like natural grass. It is most often used in arenas for sports that were originally or are normally played on grass.
• Flip-chip packaging 1964 · achieved
  IBM C4 solder bumps.
• Close-packing of equal spheres 1962 · achieved
  Dense arrangement of congruent spheres in an infinite, regular arrangement. 1962 - Alan Mackay demonstrated that there exists close packing of spheres to yield icosahedral structures.
• Pearson symbol 1958 · achieved
  Means of describing a crystal structure. 1958 - William Burton Pearson published A Handbook of Lattice Spacings and Structures of Metals and Alloys, where he introduced the Pearson symbols for crystal structure types.
• Silicon dioxide masking (Frosch & Derick) 1957 · achieved
  Oxide layers protect silicon during diffusion.
• Diffusion doping 1955 · achieved
  Bell Labs gas-phase diffusion of dopants.
• Argon oxygen decarburization 1954 · achieved
  Process in stainless steel making. 1954 – Argon oxygen decarburization (AOD) refining invented by scientists at the Union Carbide Corporation
• Polycarbonate 1953 · achieved
  Family of polymers. Polycarbonate is independently developed by Hermann Schnell at Bayer and Daniel Fox at General Electric.
• Catalysis 1953 · achieved
  Process of increasing the rate of a chemical reaction. 1953 – Metallic catalysts which greatly improve the strength of polyethylene polymers discovered by Karl Ziegler
• Homologous series 1953 · achieved
  Series of chemical substances with the same general formula, varying by a single parameter. 1953 - Arne Magnéli introduced the term homologous series to describe polytypes of transition metal oxides that exhibit crystallographic shear structures.
• Float glass 1952 · achieved
  Material; type of glass. 1952: The float glass process is developed by Alastair Pilkington.
• Polypropylene 1951 · achieved
  Polymer. J. Paul Hogan and Robert L. Banks from Phillips polymerize propylene for the first time to produce polypropylene.
• Zone refining (Pfann) 1951 · achieved
  Bell Labs: ultra-pure germanium and silicon.
• Fire-fighting foam 1950~ · achieved
  Foam that is used for fire suppression. Fire fighting foam is foam used for fire suppression. Its role is to cool the fire and to coat the fuel, preventing its contact with oxygen, resulting in suppression of combustion.
• Neutron diffraction 1949 · achieved
  Application of neutron scattering to the determination of the atomic and/or magnetic structure of a material. 1949 - Clifford Shull opened a new field of magnetic crystallography based on neutron diffraction.
• Basic oxygen steelmaking 1948 · achieved
  Oxygen blowing with dolomite charging in steel furnace. 1948: Basic oxygen steelmaking is developed by Robert Durrer. The majority of steel manufactured in the world is produced using the basic oxygen furnace; in 2000, it accounted for 60% of global steel output.
• Solid-state NMR spectroscopy 1948 · achieved
  Is a technique for characterizing atomic level structure in solid materials. 1948 - George Pake used solid state NMR spectroscopy to determine hydrogen atom distances in a single crystal of gypsum.
• Perovskite structure 1945 · achieved
  Type of crystal structure. 1945 - The crystal structure of the perovskite BaTiO 3 was first published by Helen Megaw based on barium titanate X-ray diffraction data.
• Polyethylene terephthalate 1941 · achieved
  Type of polyester commonly used for bottles and clothing. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is discovered at the Calico Printers' Association in Britain. Expanded polystyrene is first produced.
• Polyester 1941 · achieved
  Category of polymers. 1941: Polyester is invented by John Rex Whinfield and James Dickson.
• Small-angle X-ray scattering 1939 · achieved
  Technique using elastic small-angle scattering of X-rays. 1939 - André Guinier discovered small-angle X-ray scattering.
• Bin bag 1939 · achieved
  Disposable bag used to contain trash. A twist tie is a metal wire that is encased in a thin strip of paper or plastic and is used to tie the openings of bags, such as garbage bags or bread bags.
• Polytetrafluoroethylene 1938 · achieved
  Polymer. In chemistry, polytetrafluoroethylene is a synthetic fluoropolymer which finds numerous applications. PTFE is best known by the DuPont brand name Teflon. PTFE was accidentally invented by Roy Plunkett of Kinetic Chemicals in 1938.
• Field emission microscopy 1936 · achieved
  Analytical technique used in materials science. 1936: Erwin Wilhelm Müller invents the field emission microscope.
• Wood's glass 1935 · achieved
  Filter allows ultraviolet light to pass. A black light or UV Light is a lamp emitting electromagnetic radiation that is almost exclusively in the soft ultraviolet range, and emits little visible light. The black light was invented by William H. Byler, in 1935.
• Synthetic element 1934 · achieved
  Chemical element that does not occur naturally on Earth, and can only be created artificially. 1934 – Enrico Fermi conducts experiments in which he exposes uranium and thorium to neutrons to create distinct new substances. Although he is unaware at the time, he creates the first synthetic elements, the transuranium elements.
• Intermetallic 1934 · achieved
  Solid-state compound exhibiting metallic bonding, defined stoichiometry and ordered crystal structure. 1934 - Fritz Laves investigated the structures of intermetallic compounds of formula AB 2. These structures were subsequently named Laves phases.
• Patterson function 1934 · achieved
  X-ray crystallography. 1934 - Arthur Patterson introduced the Patterson function which uses diffraction intensities to determine the interatomic distances within a crystal, setting limits to the possible phase values for the reflected X-rays.
• Cadmium selenide 1932 · achieved
  Chemical compound. 1932 - Audobert and Stora discover the photovoltaic effect in Cadmium selenide (CdSe), a photovoltaic material still used today.
• Paracrystalline 1932 · achieved
  Materials without long-range ordering of their crystal lattices. 1932 - Friedrich Rinne introduced the concept of paracrystallinity for liquid crystals and amorphous materials.
• Neoprene 1930 · achieved
  Synthetic polymer resembling rubber, resistant to oil, heat, and weathering.. Neoprene is produced for the first time at DuPont.
• Polyacrylonitrile 1930 · achieved
  Polymer. Acrylic fibers are synthetic fibers made from a polymer Polyacrylonitrile with an average molecular weight of ~100,000, about 1900 monomer units.
• Artificial leather 1930 · achieved
  Man-made material that has similar properties and appearance to animal leather. Kirza is a type of artificial leather based on the multi-layer textile fabric, modified by membrane-like substances, produced mainly in the Soviet Union and Russia as a cheap and effective replacement for natural leather.
• Pauling's rules 1929 · achieved
  Rules to predict ionic compounds' crystal structures. 1929 - Linus Pauling formulated a set of rules (later called Pauling's rules ) to describe the structure of complex ionic crystals.
• Rockwell scale 1929 · achieved
  Rockwell hardness scale based on indentation hardness of a material with a 120° diamond spheroconical under 150 kgf. Pobedit is a specialized alloy that is close in hardness to diamond (85–90 on the Rockwell scale ). It was created in the USSR in 1929 and was used in mining, metal-cutting and as a material for special mechanical parts.
• Feldspar 1928 · achieved
  Mineral group. 1928 - Felix Machatschki, working with Goldschmidt, showed that silicon can be replaced by aluminium in feldspar structures.
• Prestressed concrete (Freyssinet) 1928 · achieved
  Long spans.
• Freon (CFC refrigerants) 1928 · achieved
  Midgley's non-toxic refrigerant.
• Resonator 1927 · achieved
  Device or system that exhibits resonance or resonant behavior, that is, it naturally oscillates at some frequencies, called its resonant frequencies, with greater amplitude than at others. A resonator guitar or resophonic guitar is an acoustic guitar whose sound is produced by one or more spun metal cones resonators instead of the wooden sound board (guitar top/face).
• Partial oxidation 1926 · achieved
  Chemical reaction. 1926 – Partial oxidation, Vandeveer and Parr at the University of Illinois use oxygen in the place of air for the production of syngas.
• Pyrex 1924 · achieved
  Trademark originally used for borosilicate glass. 1924 – Pyrex invented by scientists at Corning Incorporated, a glass with a very low coefficient of thermal expansion
• Cellulose 1920 · achieved
  Chemical compound. 1920 - Reginald Oliver Herzog and Willi Jancke published the first systematic analysis of X-ray diffraction patterns of cellulose extracted from a variety of sources.
• Russian lacquer art 1920 · achieved
  Art of making papier-mâché items, lacquered and hand-painted in Russia. Also Russian lacquer art, Kholuy miniature, Mstyora miniature
• Welding 1919 · achieved
  Any fabrication process for joining workpieces without adding a dissimilar filler or adhesive material. 1919 – The merchant ship Fullagar has the first all welded hull.
• Czochralski crystal growth 1916 · achieved
  Jan Czochralski's pulling method, later used for silicon boules (Teal, 1950).
• Martensitic stainless steel 1915 · achieved
  One of the 5 crystalline structures of stainless steel. 1915: Harry Brearley invents a process to create Martensitic stainless steel, initially labelled Rustless Steel, later marketed as Staybrite, and AISI Type 420.
• Inert gas 1913 · achieved
  Gas which does not undergo chemical reactions under given conditions. 1913 – Irving Langmuir discovers that inert gas could double the luminous efficacy of incandescent lightbulbs.
• Friedel's law 1913 · achieved
  1913 - Georges Friedel stated Friedel's law, a property of Fourier transforms of real functions. Friedel's law is used in X-ray diffraction, crystallography and scattering from real potential within the Born approximation.
• Lamination 1913 · achieved
  Technique of fusing layers of material. Formica is a hard durable plastic laminate used for countertops, cupboard doors, and other surfaces which are heat-resistant and easy to clean. Formica was invented in 1913 by Herbert A Faber and Daniel J.
• Metamorphism 1912 · achieved
  Change of minerals in rocks without melting into magma, occurring due to heat, pressure, and chemically active fluids. 1912 – George Barrow maps zones of metamorphism (the Barrovian sequence) in southern Scotland
• Synthetic rubber 1910 · achieved
  Any artificial elastomer. The first commercially viable synthetic rubber by Sergei Lebedev.
• Haber's tabletop ammonia synthesis 1909 · achieved
  Haber demonstrated high-pressure catalytic ammonia synthesis in 1909.
• Cellophane 1908 · achieved
  Chemical compound. 1908: Cellophane is invented by Jacques E. Brandenberger.
• Bakelite 1907 · achieved
  Early plastic. 1907: Leo Baekeland invents bakelite, the first plastic made from synthetic components.
• Plastics (Bakelite to polymers) 1907 · achieved
  Bakelite, 1907; nylon 1935.
• Laminated glass 1903 · achieved
  Safety glass that holds together when shattered, consisting of multple layers of glass held in place by interlayers. 1903: Édouard Bénédictus invents laminated glass.
• Polyethylene 1898 · achieved
  Most common thermoplastic polymer. 1898: Hans von Pechmann synthesizes polyethylene, now the most common plastic in the world.
• Hydrogenation 1897 · achieved
  Chemical reaction between molecular hydrogen and another compound or element, usually in the presence of a catalyst such as nickel, palladium or platinum. 1897 – Paul Sabatier facilitates the use of hydrogenation with the discovery of the Sabatier reaction.
• Electrolytic capacitor 1896 · achieved
  Polarized capacitor whose anode is made of a metal that forms an insulating oxide layer through anodization. Electrolytic capacitor patent was granted to Charles Pollak.
• Hydrolysis 1895 · achieved
  Cleavage of chemical bonds by the addition of water. 1895 – Hydrolysis.
• Shellac 1894 · achieved
  Spirit varnish produced from the resin secreted by lac insects on trees in the forests of India and Thailand. Shellac phonograph records are developed and soon become an industry standard.
• Exothermic welding 1893 · achieved
  Welding process that uses thermite to create exothermic reaction to heat up the metal, and the molten metal joins two or more metal pieces together. 1893 – Thermite Welding developed and soon used to weld rails
• Rubber glove 1893 · achieved
  Glove made out of rubber. 1893: William Stewart Halsted, invents the rubber glove for his wife Caroline Hampton as he noticed her hands were affected by the daily surgeries she had performed.
• Crown cork 1892 · achieved
  Form of bottle cap. Bottle caps, or closures, are used to seal the openings of bottles of many types. They can be small circular pieces of metal, usually steel, with plastic backings, and for plastic bottles a plastic cap is used instead.
• Zipper 1891 · achieved
  Device for fastening the edges of an opening of fabric or other flexible material. 1891: Whitcomb Judson invents the zipper.
• Space group 1891 · achieved
  Symmetry group of a configuration in space. 1891 - Derivation of the 230 space groups (by adding mirror-image symmetry to Sohncke's work) by a collaborative effort of Evgraf Fedorov and Arthur Schoenflies.
• Formaldehyde 1890 · achieved
  Chemical compound. Auguste Trillat discovers the means to insolubilize casein by immersion in formaldehyde, producing material marketed as galalith.
• Galalith 1890 · achieved
  Milk-based plastic. Galalith, a plastic derived from casein, is developed by Wilhelm Krische and Adolph Spitteler.
• Cardboard box 1890 · achieved
  Box fabricated from cardboard. 1890: Robert Gair invents the pre-cut cardboard box.
• Gold cyanidation 1887 · achieved
  Hydrometallurgical technique for extracting gold from low-grade ore. 1887: John Stewart MacArthur, working in collaboration with brothers Dr. Robert and Dr. William Forrest, develops the process of gold cyanidation.
• Bayer process 1887 · achieved
  Process of refining bauxite to produce alumina. 1887: Carl Josef Bayer invents the Bayer process for the production of alumina.
• Hall–Héroult process 1886 · achieved
  Aluminium smelting process. 1886: Charles Martin Hall and independently Paul Héroult invent the Hall–Héroult process for economically producing aluminum in 1886.
• Peristaltic pump 1881 · achieved
  Type of pump that moves fluid by squeezing a rubber tube. 1881 peristaltic pump
• Chemical thermodynamics 1876 · achieved
  Study of chemical reactions within the laws of thermodynamics. 1876: Josiah Willard Gibbs founded chemical thermodynamics, the phase rule.
• Metal detector 1874 · achieved
  Electronic instrument which detects the presence of metal nearby. 1874: Gustave Trouvé invents the first metal detector.
• Rotary kiln 1873 · achieved
  Type of clay kiln. 1873: Frederick Ransome invents the rotary kiln.
• Polyvinyl chloride 1872 · achieved
  Synthetic plastic polymer - A thermoplastic resin produced by the polymerization of vinyl chloride gas.. 1872: Polyvinyl chloride, more commonly known as vinyl, is synthesized by German chemist Eugen Baumann.
• Periodic table 1869 · achieved
  Mendeleev, 1869.
• Barbed wire 1867 · achieved
  Type of steel fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strand(s). 1867: Lucien B. Smith invents barbed wire.
• Reinforced concrete (Monier) 1867 · achieved
  Steel-reinforced concrete patent; Hennebique system (1892).
• Dynamite 1867 · achieved
  Nobel, 1867.
• Hofmann voltameter 1866 · achieved
  Apparatus for electrolysing water. 1866 – August Wilhelm von Hofmann invents the Hofmann voltameter for the electrolysis of water.
• Carbon fibers 1860 · achieved
  Material fibers about 5–10 μm in diameter composed of carbon. 1860: Joseph Swan produces carbon fibers.
• Spiegeleisen 1856 · achieved
  Pig iron containing a high level of manganese used in the manufacture of steel. 1856: Robert Forester Mushet develops a process for the decarbonisation, and re-carbonisation of iron, through the addition of a calculated quantity of spiegeleisen, to produce cheap, consistently high quality steel.
• Mauveine 1856 · achieved
  Synthetic dye. 1856: William Henry Perkin invents mauveine, the first synthetic dye.
• Celluloid 1856 · achieved
  Thermoplastic consisting of nitrocellulose plasticized with camphor. 1856: Alexander Parkes invents parkesine, also known as celluloid, the first man-made plastic.
• Bessemer process 1856 · achieved
  Steel production method. 11th century: Early versions of the Bessemer process are developed in China.
• Bessemer steel 1856 · achieved
  Cheap steel, 1856.
• Chemical vapor deposition 1852 · achieved
  Process used to make thin films for semiconductors or surface coating. 1852: Robert Bunsen is the first to use a chemical vapor deposition technique.
• Sodium thiosulfate 1850~ · achieved
  Chemical compound. John Herschel introduces hyposulfite of soda (now known as sodium thiosulfate but still nicknamed "hypo") as a highly effective fixer for all silver-based processes. He also makes the first glass negative.
• Nitroglycerin 1847 · achieved
  Chemical compound. 1847: Ascanio Sobrero invents nitroglycerin, the first explosive made that was stronger than black powder.
• Superphosphate 1842 · achieved
  Chemical compound. 1842: John Bennet Lawes invents superphosphate, the first man-made fertilizer.
• Bravais lattice 1842 · achieved
  An infinite array of discrete points in three dimensional space generated by a set of discrete translation operations. 1842 - Moritz Frankenheim derived 15 different theoretical networks of points in space not dependent on molecular shape.
• Polystyrene 1839 · achieved
  Thermoplastic polymer of styrene. Eduard Simon, a German apothecary, discovers polystyrene.
• Natural rubber 1839 · achieved
  Polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds; refined from latex harvested from rubber trees. 1931 – synthetic rubber called neoprene developed by Julius Nieuwland ( see also: E.K. Bolton, Wallace Carothers )
• Vulcanization 1839 · achieved
  Chemical process for converting natural rubber or related polymers into more durable materials. 1839: Charles Goodyear invents vulcanized rubber.
• Miller index 1839 · achieved
  Describing crystal lattice planes. 1839 - William Hallowes Miller invented zonal relations by projecting the faces of a crystal upon the surface of a circumscribed sphere.
• Electrotyping 1838 · achieved
  Chemical method for forming metal parts that exactly reproduce a model. 1838: Moritz von Jacobi invents electrotyping.
• Electrochemical equivalent 1833 · achieved
  Mass deposited per unit charge. 1833 – Michael Faraday announces his law of electrochemical equivalents
• Corrugated galvanised iron 1829 · achieved
  Type of metal building material. 1829: Henry Robinson Palmer is awarded a patent for corrugated galvanised iron.
• Hot blast 1828 · achieved
  Preheating of air blown into a blast furnace. 1828: James Beaumont Neilson develops the hot blast process.
• Urea 1828 · achieved
  The diamide of carbonic acid. 1828: Friedrich Wöhler synthesized urea, refuting vitalism.
• Portland cement 1824 · achieved
  Binder used as basic ingredient of concrete. 1824 – Portland cement patent issued to Joseph Aspdin
• Stainless steel 1820 · achieved
  Chromium-containing steel alloy resistant to corrosion. 1820: Michael Faraday and James Stoddart discover alloying iron with chromium produces a stainless steel resistant to oxidising elements ( rust ).
• Blowpipe 1819 · achieved
  Tool used to direct stream of gas. 1819 – Edward Daniel Clarke invents the hydrogen gas blowpipe.
• Isomorphism 1819 · achieved
  Having crystal structures of the same symmetry. 1819 - Eilhard Mitscherlich discovered crystallographic isomorphism.
• Planer 1814 · achieved
  Metalworking machine tool. 1814: James Fox invents the modern planing machine, though Matthew Murray of Leeds and Richard Roberts of Manchester have also been credited at times with its invention.
• Electrolysis 1800 · achieved
  Technique that uses a direct electric current to drive an otherwise non-spontaneous chemical reaction. 1785: Martinus van Marum is the first to use the electrolysis technique
• Modern chemistry (Lavoisier) 1789 · achieved
  Conservation of mass and naming of elements.
• Water-gas shift reaction 1780 · achieved
  Chemical reaction. 1780 – Felice Fontana discovers the water-gas shift reaction.
• Stucco 1779 · achieved
  Construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. 1779 – Hydraulic cement ( stucco ) patented by Bryan Higgins for use as an exterior plaster
• Crystal twinning 1772 · achieved
  Two separate crystals sharing some of the same crystal lattice points in a symmetrical manner. 1772 - Jean-Baptiste L. Romé de l'Isle developed geometrical ideas on crystal structure in his Essai de Cristallographie. He also described the twinning phenomenon in crystals.
• Spinning jenny 1764 · achieved
  Multi-spool spinning frame. 1764: James Hargreaves invents the spinning jenny, revolutionizing textile production during the Industrial Revolution
• Lead chamber process 1746 · achieved
  Industrial process historically used to produce sulfuric acid. 1746: John Roebuck invents the lead chamber process, mass producing sulfuric acid for manufacturing
• Crucible steel 1740 · achieved
  Type of steel. 1740 – Crucible steel technique developed by Benjamin Huntsman
• Lac 1734 · achieved
  Resinous secretion of lac insects. 1734 – Charles François de Cisternay DuFay (inspired by Gray's work to perform electrical experiments) dispels the effluvia theory by his paper in Volume 38 of the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, describing his discover…
• Coke-smelted iron 1709 · achieved
  Abraham Darby, 1709.
• Prussian blue 1706 · achieved
  The first modern synthetic pigment.
• Roller mill 1650~ · achieved
  Mill that uses cylindrical rollers to crush or grind various materials. Roller mill: Sugar rolling mills first appeared in the Mughal Empire, using the principle of rollers as well as worm gearing, by the 17th century.
• Stocking frame 1589 · achieved
  Mechanical knitting machine. 1589: Stocking frame: Invented by William Lee.
• Chintz 1550~ · achieved
  Glazed plain-woven fabric, usually printed with bright floral designs. 16th century: Chintz or printed clothing in Golconda, India
• Liquation 1453 · achieved
  Metallurgic method. 1453: First large scale use of Liquation for separating silver from silver-bearing copper at Nuremberg, Holy Roman Empire.
• İznik pottery 1450~ · achieved
  Type of decorated ceramic. Iznik pottery: Produced in Ottoman Turkey as early as the 15th century AD.
• Inca ashlar masonry 1450 · achieved
  Mortarless, earthquake-resistant fitted stonework (Machu Picchu, Sacsayhuamán).
• Type metal 1448 · achieved
  Metal alloys used in traditional typefounding and hot metal typesetting. 1448 – Johann Gutenberg develops type metal alloy
• Bidri ware 1350~ · achieved
  Decorative metal objects of India ornamented with a type of inlay work. 14th century: Bidriware in the Bahmani Sultanate in India.
• Benin bronzes (lost-wax casting) 1300 · achieved
  Lost-wax brass casting at the Edo court.
• Inuit snow goggles 1250~ · achieved
  Eye protection of the Inuit people. 13th century: Earliest documented snow goggles, a type of sunglasses, made of flattened walrus or caribou ivory are used by the Inuit peoples in the arctic regions of North America.
• Rock-hewn churches of Lalibela 1200 · achieved
  Monolithic churches carved from rock in Ethiopia, ~12th–13th century.
• Great Zimbabwe 1100 · achieved
  Monumental dry-stone city, 11th–15th century, a center of the gold trade.
• Japanese sword-making 1000 · achieved
  Differentially hardened tamahagane blades.
• Vitriol 957 · achieved
  Index of chemical compounds with the same name. 957: Abul Hasan Ali Al-Masudi, wrote on the reaction of alkali water with zaj ( vitriol ) water giving sulfuric acid.
• Igbo-Ukwu bronzes 900 · achieved
  Intricate 9th–10th century leaded-bronze castings from Nigeria.
• Petroleum distillation (al-Razi) 865 · achieved
  Breaking down of living matter. 865 – 925: al-Razi wrote on Naft ( naphtha or petroleum) and its distillates in his book Kitab sirr al-asrar ("Book of the Secret of Secrets").
• Stoneware 850~ · achieved
  Vitreous or semi-vitreous ceramic made primarily from stoneware clay or non-refractory fire clay. 9th century – Stonepaste ceramics invented in Iraq
• Fritware 850~ · achieved
  Type of pottery in which frit (ground glass) is added to clay to reduce its fusion temperature. Fritware: It refers to a type of pottery which was first developed in the Near East, beginning in the late 1st millennium, for which frit was a significant ingredient. A recipe for "fritware" dating to c.
• Alembic 850~ · achieved
  Alchemical still consisting of two vessels connected by a tube, used for distilling chemicals.
• Lusterware 850~ · achieved
  Pottery with a reflective or iridescent surface. Lusterware: Lustre glazes were applied to pottery in Mesopotamia in the 9th century; the technique soon became popular in Persia and Syria. Earlier uses of lustre are known.
• Rose water 801 · achieved
  Flavoured water made by distilling rose petals with water. 801 – 873: al-Kindi writes on the distillation of wine as that of rose water and gives 107 recipes for perfumes, in his book Kitab Kimia al-'otoor wa al-tas`eedat ("Book of the Chemistry of Perfumes and Distillations"). [ citation needed ]
• Porcelain 600 · achieved
  True porcelain in China by the Tang dynasty.
• Match 577 · achieved
  Small, coated stick which can be ignited by friction to light a fire.
• Sawmill 550~ · achieved
  Plant for processing tree trunks into boards and beams. Found in several water-powered saw mills dating from the late 3rd ( Hierapolis sawmill ) to 6th century AD (at Ephesus and Gerasa respectively).
• Spinning wheel 500 · achieved
  Device for spinning thread, yarn, or silk from natural or synthetic fibers. After 500: Charkha (spinning wheel/cotton gin) invented in India (probably during the Vakataka dynasty of Maharashtra, India ), between 500 and 1000 A.D.
• Tung oil 500 · achieved
  Vegetable oil. Tung oil: The tung oil tree originates in southern China and was cultivated there for tung oil, but the date of cultivation remains unknown. During the Song dynasty, tung oil was used for waterproofing on ships.
• Pig iron 450~ · achieved
  Iron alloy with a high carbon content. Pig iron: The earliest pig iron dates from the Zhou dynasty. By the 5th century, archaeological evidence indicates that pig iron was melted to produce cast iron. In Europe, the process was not invented until the late medieval ages.
• Iron pillar of Delhi 400 · achieved
  Corrosion-resistant iron pillar, ~4th–5th century.
• Carding 150~ · achieved
  Process that disentangles, cleans and intermixes fibres. Carding devices – Historian of science Joseph Needham ascribes the invention of bow-instruments used in textile technology to India. The earliest evidence for using bow-instruments for carding comes from India (2nd century CE).
• Fulling 50~ · achieved
  Pre-industrial process in making wool fabric. M. J. T. Lewis presents good evidence that water-powered vertical pounding machines came in by the middle of the 1st century AD for fulling, grain hulling (Pliny Nat. Hist.
• Glass blowing 37 BCE · achieved
  Technique of shaping and decorating hot and cold glass to produce hollow glass objects, flat glass and crown glass. 37 BC – 14 BC: Glass blowing developed in Jerusalem.
• Arch dam 50 BCE~ · achieved
  Solid dam made of concrete that is curved upstream in plan. 1st century BC: Arch dam ( Glanum Dam ) in Gallia Narbonensis, Roman Republic (see also List of Roman dams )
• Roman concrete 200 BCE · achieved
  Pozzolanic concrete. Its recipe was effectively lost for a millennium.
• Wootz steel 300 BCE · achieved
  Crucible steel from South India, the basis of Damascus blades.
• Pewter 500 BCE~ · achieved
  Millennium between 1000 BC and 1 BC. 1st millennium BC – Pewter beginning to be used in China and Egypt
• Haya carbon steel furnaces 500 BCE · achieved
  Preheated-air furnaces in Tanzania reaching high temperatures.
• Cast iron 500 BCE · achieved
  Blast furnaces produced cast iron in China by the 5th century BC.
• Meroë iron industry 500 BCE · achieved
  Large-scale iron production in the Kingdom of Kush.
• Nok iron smelting 800 BCE~ · achieved
  Iron smelting in West Africa (Nok culture), early 1st millennium BC.
• Chavín de Huántar 900 BCE~ · achieved
  Andean ceremonial center with stone drainage and acoustic galleries.
• Distillation (Akkadian perfume tablets) 1,200 BCE~ · achieved
  Extinct Semitic language of Mesopotamia. 1200 BC: Distillation is described on Akkadian tablets documenting perfumery operations.
• Olmec colossal heads 1,200 BCE~ · achieved
  Basalt colossal heads carved by the Olmec, c. 1200–900 BC.
• Iron smelting 1,200 BCE~ · achieved
  Iron Age spreads from Anatolia ~1200 BC.
• Andean metallurgy (tumbaga) 1,500 BCE~ · achieved
  Gold, silver and copper working, including tumbaga alloys and depletion gilding.
• Rubber processing 1,600 BCE~ · achieved
  Mesoamericans vulcanized-style processed rubber balls.
• Touchstone 2,400 BCE~ · achieved
  Small tablet of dark stone used for assaying precious metal alloys. 2400 BC: Touchstone in the Indus Valley site of Banawali (modern-day India).
• Glass 2,500 BCE~ · achieved
  Glass beads in Mesopotamia.
• Monumental construction 2,560 BCE~ · achieved
  Great Pyramid of Giza, ~2560 BC.
• Indus Valley urban planning 2,600 BCE~ · achieved
  Grid cities with drainage at Mohenjo-daro and Harappa.
• Saw 3,050 BCE~ · achieved
  Tool used to cut through wood or other materials. Saw — In ancient Egypt, open (unframed) saws made of copper are documented as early as the Early Dynastic Period, circa 3,100–2,686 BC. [ page needed ] Many copper saws were found in tomb No.
• Bronze 3,300 BCE~ · achieved
  Copper–tin alloys start the Bronze Age.
• Quilting 3,400 BCE~ · achieved
  Process of sewing layers of fabric together to make a padded material. Quilting — The earliest known quilted garment is depicted on the carved ivory figure of a Pharaoh dating from the ancient Egyptian First Dynasty (c. 3400 BC).
• Sericulture (silk) 3,500 BCE~ · achieved
  Silk production in Neolithic China.
• Copper smelting 5,000 BCE~ · achieved
  Smelted copper at Belovode, Serbia, ~5000 BC.
• Kiln 6,000 BCE~ · achieved
  Oven that generates high temperatures. 6000 BC: Kiln in Mesopotamia (Iraq)
• Mudbrick 9,000 BCE~ · achieved
  Uncooked earth used as building material. 9000 BC: Mudbricks (unfired bricks), and clay mortar in Jericho.
• Spindle whorl 10,000 BCE~ · achieved
  Weight to increase the rotation of a spindle. 12 kya: Spindle whorl, also the oldest wheel -like tool, at Nahal Ein Gev II, Israel
• Jōmon pottery 14,000 BCE~ · achieved
  Among the world's oldest pottery traditions.
• Pottery 18,000 BCE~ · achieved
  Earliest pottery at Xianrendong, China, ~18–20 kya.
• Ceramic 26,000 BCE~ · achieved
  Inorganic, nonmetallic solid prepared by the action of heat. 28 kya: Ceramics (direct evidence) and weaving (impressions left in the ceramics) in Moravia (Czech Republic) and Georgia. (The oldest piece of woven cloth found so far was in Çatalhöyük, Turkey and dated to about 9,000 years ago. )
• Charcoal 30,000 BCE~ · achieved
  Form of dry art medium. Carbon 26000 BC 26000 BC Earliest humans Charcoal and soot were known to the earliest humans, with the oldest known charcoal paintings dating to about 28000 years ago, e.g. Gabarnmung in Australia.
• Eyed needle 40,000 BCE~ · achieved
  Bone needles, ~40 kya (Denisova Cave).
• Ochre 45,000 BCE~ · achieved
  Pigment. 47 kya: The oldest-known mines in the world are from Eswatini, and extracted hematite for the production of the red pigment ochre.
• Ground stone 47,000 BCE~ · achieved
  Prehistoric stone tool. 49 kya – 30 kya: Ground stone tools – fragments of an axe in Australia date to 49–45 ka, more appear in Japan closer to 30 ka, and elsewhere closer to the Neolithic.
• Middle Paleolithic 70,000 BCE~ · achieved
  Archaeological period. ca. 70,000 BC – South Africa, ochre rocks adorned with scratched geometric patterns (see Blombos Cave ).
• Heat-treated stone tools 164,000 BCE~ · achieved
  Silcrete heated to improve flaking, Pinnacle Point, South Africa.
• Clothing 170,000 BCE~ · achieved
  Lice-genetics evidence dates regular clothing to ~170 kya.
• Adhesive 200,000 BCE~ · achieved
  Material which is used for bonding of various materials. 200 kya: Simple glue ( adhesive ) made of one kind of material, birch tar, in Central Italy by Neanderthals.
• Bone tool 1,498,000 BCE~ · achieved
  In archaeology, tool made by bone. 1.5 Mya: Bone tools in Africa by Homo erectus and/or Paranthropus boisei
• Acheulean hand axe 1,760,000 BCE~ · achieved
  Symmetrical bifacial tools, the longest-used technology in history.
• Stone tools (Lomekwian/Oldowan) 3,300,000 BCE~ · achieved
  First deliberately shaped tools, ~3.3 Mya at Lomekwi, Kenya.