Metalworking and fire seems to go so naturally that we have taken the science behind it for granted. But there is so much more between the interactions of heat and metals than mere melting, casting and shaping. This relation goes deep into the molecular realm, of how the alignments of particles can make or break the structure.

And when the structure supports bridges, buildings, or vehicles, it's certainly worth it to know more.

Were all 'very familiar with batteries. May they be the standard AA in remote controls or the rechargeable ones in our phones, it's a very convenient way o ensure that our indispensable modern appliances are reliably powered, at least for some time. But chemical batteries do have a downside; they are an environmental hazard both in producing and disposing them, and they can only be reusable for a finite number of times.

But what if we can store energy in another way? In an arguably better way?

Steel seems to occupy a special place and purpose in our civilisation. Even though other materials exist, both metallic and non-metallic, they're not as utilised as much as steel. What special properties does it have that these others don't? Certainly there are other materials that are stronger, lighter, less prone to corrosion, or just plain less costly to make.

Or maybe steel is just the jack-of-all-trades that has all those properties in balance?

While it is a convenient method to travel long distances, air travel is quite energy inefficient as far as environmentalists are concerned. Now the race is on to develop either a more efficient engine or one that is outright emission-free.

Although the basic technology exists, the performance required of them is pushing on the boundaries of current levels of engineering and physics. As we shall see...

Sometimes it takes a leap of creativity to link two seemingly unrelated things together; for instance weaving and programming. Of course in our times both are integrated through computerised automation.

But what if instead of this being the result, the convergence of these two fields are just a recurrence of something that happened almost two centuries ago?