unobtanium
Mythical perfect substance
Unobtanium is a fictional material with whatever impossible properties a situation requires—impossibly light, impossibly strong, impossibly heat-resistant.
Engineers and scientists use the term sarcastically for any substance that would solve their problem if only it existed: We'd need unobtanium to make that design work.
The word mocks proposals that assume materials beyond current technology.
Fictional unbreakable metal
- mithrilFictional ultralight strong metal
- dilithiumMolecule with two lithiums
- kryptonitePersonal weakness or vulnerability
- carboniteCarbon-based freezing compound
Impossible to acquire
- elusiveHard to find
- chimeraUnrealistic fantasy or hybrid
- mirageAtmospheric optical deception
- fantasyImaginative mental wandering
quixotic · futile · mythical · illusory · unreachable · out-of-reach · unicorn · vaporware
Seldom found or seen
- scarceIn short supply
- limitedRestricted in extent
- exoticStrikingly unusual, foreign-seeming
- preciousHighly esteemed, greatly valued
uncommon · sparse · exclusive · coveted · sought-after · prized · restricted · allocated
Too valuable to quantify
- invaluableBeyond monetary worth
- costlyHigh in price
- premiumAdded cost for better
- luxuryExpensive nonessential comfort
high-end · treasure · fortune · irreplaceable · exorbitant · prohibitive · astronomical
First functional specimen
- experimentalTesting new methods
- theoreticalBased on hypothesis, untested
- cutting-edgeAt innovation's forefront
- aerospaceAtmosphere plus outer void
metamaterial · superconductor · specification · tolerance · lightweight · high-strength · heat-resistant · frictionless
adamantium
Fictional unbreakable metal
- mithrilFictional ultralight strong metal
- dilithiumMolecule with two lithiums
- kryptonitePersonal weakness or vulnerability
unattainable
Impossible to acquire
fantasy · quixotic · futile · mythical · illusory · unreachable · out-of-reach · unicorn · vaporware · moonshot
rare
Seldom found or seen
precious · uncommon · sparse · exclusive · coveted · sought-after · prized · restricted · allocated · backordered
priceless
Too valuable to quantify
- invaluableBeyond monetary worth
- costlyHigh in price
- premiumAdded cost for better
luxury · high-end · treasure · fortune · irreplaceable · exorbitant · prohibitive · astronomical
prototype
First functional specimen
- experimentalTesting new methods
- theoreticalBased on hypothesis, untested
- cutting-edgeAt innovation's forefront
aerospace · metamaterial · superconductor · specification · tolerance · lightweight · high-strength · heat-resistant · frictionless
- AvatarNa'vi, Pandora, blue skin, banshee, RDA
- Fictional Materialsadamantine, mithril, dilithium, kryptonite, vibranium
- magical substancesmana, ichor, ambrosia, nectar, ether
- Sci-Fi/Fantasywand, spell, potion, rune, incantation
- sci-fi techteleporter, time travel, cryonics, force fields, time machine
unobtaniumdirt cheap
Extremely low-priced
dime-a-dozen · bargain basement · low-cost · affordable · economical
obtain, obtaining, obtained, obtainable, unobtainable, obtains, unobtainium, obtainment