12.23.09 By: Jennifer A. Brown
By now you've probably seen Avatar, and are maybe wondering about the odd name for the mineral so coveted by the corporation mining on Pandora. And while it was also used in the The Core, it's not a cheesy term coined by filmmakers, but an actual scientific term.
Unobtainium is the term used by scientists to describe an unknown or impossible to get substance. The name itself is a bit of a joke, but not the first in the scientific or technology lexicons.
In 1947, when one the Mark II computers was not functioning properly, the cause was traced to a moth inside the enormous computer. The act of removing the moth was jokingly referred to as "debugging" and the term stuck for other, non-physical causes of computer malfunctions.
Two years later, the term "Big Bang Theory" was coined by a physicist dismissing the work of a competitor. Fred Hoyle dismissed Georges Lemaître's theory in a 1949 radio interview, as "this big bang idea" and it stuck. It's much more memorable than Lemaître' s hypothesis of the primeval atom cosmological model of the universe, isn't it?
Even more recognizable is "spam," inspired by a 1970s skit by Monty Python, in turn inspired by Hormel's inexpensive potted meat, originally marketed as spiced ham, then as Spam.
Filed under: News/Reactions
Tags: Avatar, big bang theory, BigBangTheory, Fred Hoyle, FredHoyle, Georges Lemaître, GeorgesLemaître, Unobtainium
Gordon Wernerat 12-23-2009
the earth-ship in the horrible movie "The Core" was also made out of Unobtanium
brett costerat 1-10-2010
Yet something else pinched from David Brin, apart from half the plot of The Core (see "Earth"), unobtanium appeared in Startide Rising. Of course, Brin is ex-NASA, where it had been lusted after since the 50s.
And a planet wide network of tree roots? See Uplift War.
Naviblue.comat 12-28-2009
Interesting read. I thought it was a lame name made up by Cameron.
mesimpsonat 1-25-2010
“Unobtainium is the term used by scientists to describe an unknown or impossible to get substance.”
But, in Avatar they already know what the substance is, why it has value, and they are already mining it. So, shouldn’t it be called Canobtainium? Or better yet, since the stuff is reportedly worth $20million per kilo, how about Unaffordium?
Dave Gavinat 1-28-2010
I recently saw Avatar and was instantly reminded of an old Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoon episode wherein the plot centers about a rare substance known as "upsidasium" which floats in the air and has the ability to escape Earth's gravity. The cartoon even featured a floating mountain not unlike the Hallelujah Mountains of the Avatar film.
Howard Finkat 2-04-2010
The behavior of unobtainium in the movie suggests it is a room-temperature superconductor, justifying it's price. One of the tests of a superconductor is its ability to float in a magnetic field.
Tim Bisleyat 2-06-2010
The Unobtanium in Avatar made me think of Element 115 in our Periodic table, Ununpentium. It is thought by some that it is the key to anti-gravity, which if true would certainly make it worth 20 million bux a kilo.
Wizard Gynoidat 2-10-2010
The floating islands in the sky were pioneered by album cover artist Roger Dean, most notably on some of the old "Yes" album covers. Avatar owes an unacknowledged debt to Roger Dean.
QAat 2-13-2010
I think Unobtainium in Avatar might be a reference to Ununpentium (element 115). Ununpentium is a superheavy metal with special gravitational properties which can be manipulated for space/time travel. "How?" you ask? Read on:
"
Gravity is a wave, and there are two specific different types of gravity - Gravity A and Gravity B. Gravity A works on a smaller micro-scale, while Gravity B works on a larger macro-scale. We are familiar with Gravity B; it is the Big Gravity wave that holds the Earth, as well as the rest of the planets in orbit around the Sun and holds the moon as well as man-made satellites in orbit around the Earth. We are not familiar with Gravity A. It is the small gravity wave which is the major contributory force that holds together the mass that makes up all protons and neutrons. Gravity A is what is currently being labeled as the strong nuclear force in mainstream physics and Gravity A is the wave that you need to access and amplify to enable you to cause space-time distortion for interstellar travel.
"
- Bob Lazar
Watch The Lazar Tape for details:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TE6XQz5xn04
It's fascinating stuff.