Word: tensile

tensile

\ TEN-suhl \  , adjective;

1. capable of being stretched or drawn out; ductile.

2. of or pertaining to tension:  tensile strain.

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               “I’m telling you, this is going to be big!”  Lawrence said as he bounded excitedly down the steps to the basement, the two others trailing behind his somewhat less enthusiastically. 

                “That’s what you said the last time.”  Tony said.  He was very close to simply leaving, but he knew Lawrence wouldn’t let him leave without seeing what new trinket he had come up with this time. 

                “Yeah, but this time I mean it.”  Lawrence said, hurriedly opening the door. 

                On the other side was an immaculate room lit by several florescent lights attached to the ceiling.  The room was filled with tables containing computers, bottles containing liquids of many colors, and more mechanical devises than at a car nut’s garage. 

                “Ok, what is it?”  Victor said, not quite suppressing a sigh as he said it.  His thoughts were similar to Tony’s, and he simply wanted to be somewhere else, even as he entered his friend’s basement lab.  Lawrence giggled furiously as he went over to one of the tables that was lined with various light fixtures all pointed at a single spot.  He went over to his friends with something clutched in his thin hand.

                “Behold, the future!”  He said and opened his hand, proudly displaying what he was holding.  He held a few long strands of what looked to be hair.  The other two looked at the strands blankly.

                “So you brought us here to look at a girl’s hair?”  Victor asked, more annoyed than ever.

                “I don’t know, I think it’s something,” Tony said.  “It means that he managed to talk a girl into giving him something.  That’s a big step up in the social world for this guy, even if it is a little creepy.”

                “First of all, it’s not hair.  Second of all, I can so get a girl to talk to me if I wanted to.  It’s just that I have more important things to think about.”  Lawrence said.  The other two looked at each other and rolled their eyes.

                “Yeah, sure you could.”  Tony said sarcastically.  “When was the last time you spoke more than three words to a girl?”  Lawrence opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted when Tony resumed speaking.  “And you mom, sister, and other relatives don’t count.”  He said, crossing his arms in front of him with a smug grin on his face.  Lawrence looked at the strands in his hand and muttered a few incomprehensible words.

                “Are you going to make fun of my social endeavors, or am I going to tell you about this.”  He said finally, holing up the strands.

                “Ok, fine.  What have you got there?”  Tony asked, still thinking of ways to poke fun at his smaller friends social ineptness.

                “These are samples of a new kind of metallic alloy I created.  It’s much easier to manipulate than normal metals, and so it can easily be made into thin fibers, such as those in my hand.  In fact, this stuff can be made into just about any shape possible, and is quite flexible for a metal, even in larger, thicker shapes.  Not only that, but its tensile strength is roughly four times that of steel, yet is about 40% lighter.”  Lawrence said, displaying the strands like he was showing off some kind of award.

                “And all that means what, exactly?”  Victor said, less enthusiastically than Lawrence would have liked. 

                “Lots of things.  For example, a shirt made of this stuff would be better than a Kevlar vest, and not nearly as heavy or bulky.  It can be used to make ropes that are stronger than steel cable, but as flexible as normal rope.  The applications are endless.  Plus, with the right supports and alterations, it can be made just as rigid as normal metal, making it very good for building purposes.  I estimate that once I get this stuff out on the market, it’ll replace all other metals in a decade or so.”  He puffed out his chest a bit more, clearly proud of his achievement.

                “Ok, that’s all well and good, but what’s the catch?”  Tony said.

                “Catch?”

                “Yeah, catch.  If it’s really as great as you say it is, then there has to be a downside somewhere.  What is it?”

                “I bet it’s insanely expensive to make or something.”  Victor said.

                “No, actually.  It’s fairly cheap.  It is a bit more costly than steel, but only by a few cents, and it’s really resistant to corrosion and other forms of damage, so in the long run, it’ll actually save money.”

                “Well then what’s the problem with the stuff?”  Victor asked.  Lawrence didn’t answer right away.

                “It’s really hard and very time consuming to make.  As it is right now, a single strand took me about a week to fully manufacture.”  He said eventually.

                “And there it is.”  Tony said.  “Sorry pal, but that’s no good.  Everyone likes things to be fast these days, you know that.  Something that takes a week to make such a small amount of isn’t going to go anywhere.”

                “Y-yeah, I know.  But this is only the first batch.  With a bit more work, I can speed up the process a lot.”

                “And you want us to help you, don’t you?”  Victor said, holding his head in his hands. 

                “Please?”  Lawrence said, his eyes pleading just as much as his words.

                “No way, man.”  Tony said.  “You’ve got something good, but it’s just like everything else you make.  It’s all great and world changing and stuff, but it never pans out in the end.”

                “That’s not true!”  Lawrence shouted.

                “Yeah, then how’s the work on your hair powered engine?  Or your magnetic generator?  Or what about the anti-grav unit?”

                “I-I had to table those for various reasons.”  Lawrence said, hanging his head.  The truth was that he had simply run into problems with his previous inventions that he had been unable to overcome.  While they had worked for awhile, they each had a crippling issue that kept them from being practical.  For some it was cost, for others, a short lifespan, and still others needed too much energy.  He wanted to finish them, but he just couldn’t get around the underlying problems.

                “And the same thing will happen with this one too.”

                “You don’t know that.”

                “Yes, I do.  There’s no way to get around some things.  You might be able to shave an hour or two at most, but whatever goes into making that stuff takes as long as it takes.  You can’t change the laws of nature you know.”

                “Change the laws of nature?”  Lawrence said quietly to himself.  Neither of the others heard him say it.

                “Sorry pal, but that’s the way things work.”  Tony said.

                “Maybe your next one will turn out better.”  Victor chimed in.  He said it, but he didn’t really believe it.  Lawrence tended to make things that were great on paper, but not nearly as good in practice.  That wouldn’t stop him from trying though.  “Anyway, better luck next time.  See ya later then.” Victor said, already turning to leave.

                “Give that brain of yours a rest and come hang out with us in the real world some time, would ya?  A few days not in the lab will do you good.  Anyway, I’m off.  Later.”  Tony said, following Victor out of the lab.

                Lawrence stood there, looking at the strands of metal he had made.  He knew that Tony was right.  It was impossible to make everything work out just the way he wanted.  Natural laws and ways kept him from perfecting his inventions.  Suddenly, a slow smile crept onto his face.  If the way things worked kept him from perfecting things, all he had to do was find a way to change them.  He went over to one of the many computers scattered around the room and got to work. 

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Does he succeed?  Does he end up altering the very laws of nature itself?  Frankly, I have NO idea!  But imagine what it would be like if he did...