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Chemistry

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    $\begingroup$ Yes, it is. As far as I'm concerned, you can make Gold out of Lead; but it's not worth it. $\endgroup$
    – M.A.R.
    Commented Dec 28, 2014 at 18:42
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    $\begingroup$ As far as searching for "alternatives" or improvements for other things (e.g. bronze vs. steel vs. composites), improvement of one property is almost always is a tradeoff for something else. If you're making a structure of some sort, usually you just care about a couple properties (Young's modulus, tensile strength) and the others are irrelevant. Sometimes though, you care about lots of properties (color, castibility, patina, strength...) it's increasingly difficult. $\endgroup$
    – Nick T
    Commented Dec 29, 2014 at 22:24
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    $\begingroup$ And for crystalline materials, you're talking about fairly fundamental atomic properties that are nearly impossible to rationally control or manipulate. $\endgroup$
    – Nick T
    Commented Dec 29, 2014 at 22:27