In the broadest context, national security embraces economic capacity, social and political stability, and military power. The strategic materials industry is an important contributor to the national security strategy of the United States. Materials typically considered strategic in this context are steel, aluminum, titanium, other rare or exotic metals, and advanced polymer, ceramic, and metal matrix composite materials.

While some of these materials have been around for centuries and others represent state-of-the-art technology, all are key to maintaining the technological lead, competitive advantage, and military dominance that the United States currently enjoys. Economies thrive on constant improvement in the products and productivity-enhancing tools, machines, and processes that are the very heart of the materials industries. For example, in a military context, weapons system and aerospace applications require materials that are extremely lightweight, have high strength-to-weight ratios, high temperature tolerance, and are resistant to corrosion.

The push from the Department of Defense (DOD) to lower total ownership costs of weapons systems has resulted in efforts by material manufacturers to lower not only production costs, but also the operations and maintenance costs of the final products. With the increased emphasis on cost, the different strategic materials compete with each other for market share, as one material may often be substituted for another. There is also a growing requirement for materials to be recyclable in response to environmental concerns. Strategic materials are materials needed in order to prosecute a war.

Examples:

In times of war, it is of advantage to manufacture machines and military equipment that require as few as possible of these materials for their production.






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The Sims is a strategic life simulation game created by Will Wright of Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. Fundamental gameplay is focused on managing the activities of one or more virtual people, called "sims." First released on February 4, 2000, the game is the best-selling PC game in history


The game has no clearly-defined objectives (other than meeting the basic needs of the sims) nor scoring, and so allows players the opportunity to define their own goals and game strategies.

with over 6.3 million copies of The Sims and a total of 58 million copies of the entire series sold worldwide, it is heralded as  [1][2]. Historically, it is also the most successful non-violent PC game. Since its release, several expansion packs, along with a sequel, The Sims 2, has been released. 

Overview

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As with previous Maxis games, The Sims is a departure from most previous computer games, which tend to have a definite goal or objective. Instead, the game focuses entirely on virtual people called "Sims," placing the player in control of a "virtual dollhouse," controlling their daily activities such as sleeping, eating, cooking and bathing, to name a few. Will Wright, the game's designer, likes to refer to it as a "digital dollhouse." Though players are encouraged to make their own characters, many of the pre-made characters have become popular in their own right.

Description

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Instead of objectives, the player is encouraged to make choices and engage fully in an interactive environment. As such, the game has successfully attracted casual gamers. The only real objective of the game is to organize the Sims' time to help them reach personal goals.