The existence of ultra high purity synthetic quartz is proof of concept that there is an alternative that is already viable, just not as affordable as high purity natural quartz, which limits its market share. A prolonged supply interruption may cause problems but only until someone picks up the resulting windfall opportunity for scaling up synthetic quartz production, and all the subsequent windfall opportunities for increasing its efficiency.
When there are big and glaring fragility problems it’s useful to ask where they come from. Sometimes it’s “The industry is too small to afford redundancy.” E.g. big car companies often just won’t move forward with a new component or material unless they have backup suppliers on deck to pick up any shortfalls, but aerospace doesn’t always have that option. Sometimes it’s IP law creating temporary bottlenecks. Sometimes its trade regulations or permitting rules that create lasting bottlenecks. But in time of great need the purely legal rules can be swept away, even if we often fail to do so when we should.
I bring this up because it suggests what directions for reform are likely to be productive.
The existence of ultra high purity synthetic quartz is proof of concept that there is an alternative that is already viable, just not as affordable as high purity natural quartz, which limits its market share. A prolonged supply interruption may cause problems but only until someone picks up the resulting windfall opportunity for scaling up synthetic quartz production, and all the subsequent windfall opportunities for increasing its efficiency.
When there are big and glaring fragility problems it’s useful to ask where they come from. Sometimes it’s “The industry is too small to afford redundancy.” E.g. big car companies often just won’t move forward with a new component or material unless they have backup suppliers on deck to pick up any shortfalls, but aerospace doesn’t always have that option. Sometimes it’s IP law creating temporary bottlenecks. Sometimes its trade regulations or permitting rules that create lasting bottlenecks. But in time of great need the purely legal rules can be swept away, even if we often fail to do so when we should.
I bring this up because it suggests what directions for reform are likely to be productive.