~ If you wanted to make something out of a material of some kind that would never break down (pre-assume the ability to work or manufacture with it) what would it be?

Stone
Diamond
Gold
Carbon Monofilament ("BUCKY-BALLS")
Some form of crystal...


Assume that a thousand years from now - you want it to be found:
What material would you choose?

What materials do we have any idea of that would come close to that capability?


Almost everything degrades. If one were to construct a "TIME CAPSULE", we would not want it to be opened in the far future only to find that the contents had long since been ruined, leaving not a single clue...

* There is also the notion that where it was LEFT should preserve it as well - such as in orbit

 

We only need to look at civilizations from the past that still have buildings standing. Stone would be my first choice. Every civilization that was destroyed was caused by some major storm, flood, earthquake, fire, or volcanic eruption. Mother nature is the enemy to whatever you choose to build with. Stone have proven to be the most resistant over time. I remember several years ago, a local Catholic college was building a Chapel, and the architect said that his plan for the building would last 30 years. The Priest from our Church that was one of the people overseeing the building said "Wait a minute. You said it will last 30 years. The Church I preach at every Sunday was built over 100 years ago, and is still standing as if it was built yesterday. Why don't you build something like that?"

Everything that we build today is temporary. But, we should try to build things that will last longer than our lifetime. Stone would be my first choice, low maintenance. Wood would be the next, higher maintenance, paint and keep it dry. Any kind of metal would be very high maintenance, susceptible to all kinds of elements in the air, not just moisture.

Diamonds are certainly incorruptible, but very expensive and would also be very difficult to work with. Gold, though very resilient, is very soft. So it wouldn't be very sturdy as a building material.

 

With cost not being a factor...ceramic.

 

The term 'ceramic' has changed greatly. Originally a metal oxide but now includes many things.
carbon - diamond, graphite , graphene they are always finding new materials . It's very hard to keep up with developments .We have titanium alloys , ordered crystals like some gold/copper alloys. Fun and challenging !!

 

http://jalopnik.com/this-is-a-real-video-created-by-a-real-government-agenc-1786395426
Here's some stuff on new engine materials .
I thought we did this back when Chrysler developed their jet engine ? Those were the good old days !

 

Every spic of gold still exists and always will for all eternity ..

 

Yep. Some of disappears but, it never goes away. Even when people try yo eat it.

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Most of the gold at the mine I worked at could not be seen by the naked eye, they washed our clothes on site and recovered gold from our coveralls that was in the catch basin in the drain system..

 

For the off the wall.... If you are trying to store information You would need something that is corrosion proof and be crush proof. so some form of a diamond that is laser etched encased in heavy stone buried on the moon. That way there is no wind or rain to wear down on the items in question but magma flows and asteroids may cause some issues.

 

I remember in the sixties everyone used to think "Plastic is forever", but go look at an old fiberglass bodied dune buggy and you will see that UV rays had the final say on that noise...

Dash panels also crack, and break down. There have been advances in thermoplastics and thermoset plastic, but we still see rough, visibly dry and dull surface layers even on newer vehicles. And soft rubberized parts that were used in the seventies? It's a rare Cadillac Eldorado that isn't missing those parts entirely from the sides of the front end. It is also safe to say that "Landau Roofs" have gone the way of the Brontosaurus.

But modern materials are going far beyond anything we have seen so far., with outright freakish seeming materials like Buckminster Fullerene ("Bucky Balls") that is thought to be one of the strongest materials ever.

 

Bucky balls ? That started all the stuff with graphene .That's a fantastic field with what you can do with carbon. They are learning more and more about it !!
The degredation of plastics and rubber has been around since the '50s and still with us. But it's become far more common with Chinese junk !!

 

UHM plastic is damn near indestructible.............
It's been lining the bottom of conveyors at the plant with huge drag-chains carrying metal slag, for 5 years that I've been there............ain't replaced one panel yet.

 

Copaltite. That poop is forever. Not only that, but whatever you assemble with it will never, ever come apart again - you can drive the future folks crazy.

 

I have imagined at times what a future civilization will make of old tires that THEIR archeologists find...

Not to mention old garden hoses! (EPDM)

'Ethene Polene Diene Monomer', or something like

"Obviously they were some sort of religious artifact, perhaps this "Goodyear" for example they prayed to for a successful harvest..."



"Now, I wonder if the metallic remains were some sort of offerings?"