We also recognize that it is the fundamental principles underlying the relationship between the atomic structure of matter and the properties of matter that allow us to understand how to design new materials for the future and to continue our understanding of the very basis of the nature of matter. And, we learn how to exploit these insights to make new devices, to understand what materials were used by ancient cultures, to learn about the processes that occurred in the earth's crust millions of years ago, or simply to understand why certain compounds are found (and exploited for their usefulness) in the earth's crust, whereas, other, similar compounds exist only in our laboratories.