Desired features include low-cost and durable materials that can withstand high concentration ratios (~1000 suns), heat-transfer fluids that can withstand temperatures >650 °C, high solar absorptance, and low radiative and convective heat losses leading to a thermal efficiency >90%.
In a country with harsh climes and limited natural resources, materials that would withstand the elements were critical.
Mr. Zhou said that China was also working hard to develop its own capability to manufacture high-tech materials that can withstand the torque, humidity and other stresses that affect wind turbines.
The most common procedure is replacement of the working parts of the knee with synthetic devices of metal and plastic or ceramic materials that can withstand normal stresses on this weight-bearing joint for at least a decade.
We need serious public investment to develop materials that can withstand the harsh fusion environment, sustain hot plasma indefinitely and integrate all these features in an experimental facility to produce continuous fusion power.
Company scientists are also working on steel capable of resisting the corrosive effects of the hydrogen sulfide gas that permeates some natural gas fields, and on pipe materials that can withstand the stresses of Arctic temperatures or the pressure of 3,000 meters, or about 9,800 feet, of water.
In addition, the robustness of conductive materials that can withstand electrical load becomes an important feature for next-generation electronics, as devices are highly integrated and miniaturized.
