Why the Bronze Age collapsed
Historians like to blame drought, famine and invaders. But this can’t explain why the empires never came back.
metallurgy
Antimony
Three countries mine about 85% of the world's antimony: China, Russia and Tajikistan. The United States imports 91% of what it uses, more than half of it from China, which banned antimony exports to the US in December 2024. The metal goes into ammunition, lead-acid batteries and…
How the world was welded
Let's all join together, now...
America’s machinists are retiring, and two startup founders want to salvage what they know
Neuramill is building software that captures how experienced machinists decide to make a part, then applies that knowledge to new jobs at aerospace and defense machine shops. The company was founded last year by two engineers in their 20s who started their careers in Seattle.
Possible Production Chokepoint In Large Titanium Castings Vital To U.S. Defense Industry In Oregon
The notion that the U.S.'s large titanium castings capability is concentrated in one 70-mile corridor in Oregon is a production risk scarier than the Bigfoot himself
I found the American dream… in China
Decline and renaissance in El Segundo
Inside the First U.S. Aluminum Smelter in 46 Years
The first new U.S. primary smelter since 1980. What it is, how it works, and where its inputs come from.