4 Dominants Ruling The World!

No AI, apps, electronic messages, or any other form of advancement in technology can affect the use of these 4 materials in the current future.?

Last week I finished reading ‘How The World Really Works’ By Vaclav Smil, a book highly recommended by Bill Gates . It is a dense read that gives a reality check to the world in tangible terms backed by scientific numbers. While answering the question that forms the title of the book, Smil talks about 4 important materials that currently govern all other industries of the world.

The Chapter III of ‘How the world really works’ focuses on Cement, Steel, Ammonia, and Plastics as the most important materials in the world. According to the book, ‘In 2019, the world consumed about 4.5 billion tons of cement, 1.8 billion tons of steel, 370 million tons of plastics, and 150 million tons of ammonia, and they are not readily replaceable by other materials- certainly not in the near future or on a global scale.’

As a serial entrepreneur, this book helped me develop a scientific temperament toward the most widely used industrial materials in the world. It helps me build a perspective on the industries affected directly and indirectly by the use of these materials. As an investor, this book certainly shed a light on the future industry trends and the sectors expected to reap more profit.

Talking about Ammonia, Cement, Plastic, and Concrete, Smil says “…four materials rank highest on the scale of necessity, forming what I have called the four pillars of modern civilization”

Ammonia: The gas that feeds the world

Ammonia is highly used in the production of fertilizers, and further used in the production of crops. If it were not for Ammonia, half the world’s population couldn’t have been fed properly. It is also used in making Nitric Acid, Explosives, Rocket Propellants, Dyes, Fibres, and Window & Floor Cleaners. Ammonia is practically running the world at present.

Plastics: Diverse, Useful, Troublesome

Though being called a menace, global production of plastics rose from only about 20,000 tons in 1925 to 2 million tons by 1950, 150 million tons by the year 2000, and about 370 million tons by 2019.?

The best way to appreciate the ubiquity of plastic materials in our daily lives is to note how many times a day our hands' touch, our eyes see, our bodies rest on, and our feet tread on plastic: you might be astonished at the frequency of such encounters! From the phone/laptop you are using to read this article, to something as routinely simple as brushing, has plastic that we use on a daily basis.

Steel: Ubiquitous and Recyclable

Steel determines the look of modern civilization and enables its most fundamental functions. It is one of the most widely used metals and forms countlessly visible and invisible critical components of today's world. Moreover, nearly all other metallic and non-metallic products we use have been extracted, processed, shaped, finished, and distributed with tools and machines made of steel. No mode of today's mass transportation could function without steel. Naked steel is ubiquitous inside and outside of our homes, in items small (cutlery, knives, cooking pots, pans, kitchen gadgets, garden tools) and large (appliances, lawnmowers, bicycles, cars).

Even steel scrap has become one of the world’s most valuable export commodities, as countries with a long history of steel production and with plenty of accumulated scrap sell the material to expanding producers

Concrete: A world created by cement

Since 2007, most of humanity has lived in cities made possible by concrete. From skyscrapers and tall apartment buildings to foundations and basements of houses and complexes, many walls and ceilings, and cement are omnipresent around us. Urban infrastructures-from buried engineering networks (large pipes, cable channels, sewers, subway foundations, tunnels) to aboveground transportation infrastructure (sidewalks, roads, bridges, shipping piers, airport runways) are all highly dependent on concrete.

Conclusion

Factually correct and accurate, this book by Vaclav Smil is grounded in reality governing the world. Thus, it also gives an insight into creating economically viable plans to help solve the biggest challenges our world faces today. Easy to read, I would recommend this book to everyone who wants to know what the future could look like for all of us.