Sunday, November 14, 2010

QUESTION 395: Caught UNaware



Since the late 1950s,[aerospace engineers have used the term ___X____ when referring to unusual or costly materials, or when theoretically considering a material perfect for their needs in all respects, except that it does not exist. The word ___X_____ may well have been coined in the aerospace industry to refer to materials capable of withstanding the extreme temperatures expected in reentry. Aerospace engineers are frequently tempted to design aircraft which require parts with strength or resilience beyond that of currently available materials.

However, as of 2009, due to a major revolution in a certain sphere, the term ____X____ has shed its engineering endearments for a more contemporary one, and ____X_____ has entered the popular lexicon, although it still bears the same meaning.

Question:

1) Id X
2) What happened in 2009 to cause this term to come into popular usage.

7 comments:

R said...

Okay this is the fictional element Unobtainium came into popular usage due to its mention in Avatar.But there is something wrong with that image because the 118th element is Ununoctum.

Aishwarya said...

unobtainium
-aishwarya

Prasad said...

Unobtanium

Avatar made it famous

Ameya said...

Unobtanium..... Gave it in one of my earlier quizzes at college....

Anonymous said...

1 unobtainium
2 it was shown in avatar
-abhi shetty

churott said...

C is unobtanium and im guessing the release of avatar caused a spike in its popularity

Siddarth Pai said...

Answer:

You all got it

@Rohan, i know
but for a fictional element, its hard to get the atomic number of it
lol
had to go with you have