The crucial component for making this material is an exotic solvent called 1-butyl, 3-methylimidazolium chloride.

ECONOMIST: Storing electricity

The hope is that pairing up researchers and businesses will hasten the development of material and component manufacturing processes for the carbon-based substance, and make it possible for graphene to find its way into products such as flexible electronics, batteries and faster processors.

ENGADGET: EU backs consortium in billion-euro program to hasten graphene development

The idea is to coat the tin material onto the copper component that conducts electricity.

FORBES: Tin: The Secret To Improving Lithium-Ion Battery Life

The problem is that the resulting material is as sensitive as its most sensitive component.

ECONOMIST: A new hybrid explosive is safer to handle but still powerful

Each electronic component, he decided, could be made of the same type of material and integrated into a whole.

ECONOMIST: Jack Kilby

Like an office printer that puts 2D digital files on a piece of paper, a 3D printer creates components by depositing thin layers of material one after another using a digital blueprint until the exact component required has been created.

WHITEHOUSE: The White House

Fraud was a material part of the mortgage collapse, a big factor in commercial property and loan losses and a component in investment banking and private-equity losses that did more damage than acknowledged.

ECONOMIST: Letters

Kicking off earnings season, Alcoa posted second quarter results after the bell on Monday, hitting EPS expectations of 32 cents right on the head as the Dow component realized higher prices and saw increased demand, despite a weak U.S. dollar and rising energy and material costs.

FORBES: Alcoa Doubles Net Income And Reaffirms Guidance Amid Nervous Markets