
104 Process Techniques for Engineering High-Performance Materials
The evolution of new tools or concepts throughout human history often
follows a common pattern. In the beginning, there is a huge diversity
of designs or concepts as developers struggle to nd effective solutions.
Progress is constrained by material scarcity or process limitations. No one
option is acceptable to all end users.
Early humans had numerous different concepts for spearpoints as they
chipped rocks, shaped bone fragments, and sharpened wooden shafts.
These early solutions were sufcient to keep our species from extinction.
Eventually, one dominant technique for aking ...