Why is this (almost) at the top of HN? Nothing really stood out for me after a quick skim of the wiki page. Is there some additional context that I'm not aware of, or is this just a case of "huh, cool"?
That's why I upvoted indeed and it's one of the reasons HN is what it is. It's one of the welcome additions to the software- and hardware-related posts which, let's be honest, often go on and on about the same subject. Moreover if we're lucky someone here actually works in a field which uses this materail and can bring up interesting stories.