What is "dematerialization"

alt. the act or process of dematerializing n. the act or process of dematerializing

Dematerialization may refer to:

• Dematerialization (economics) - the reduction in the quantity of materials required to serve economic functions (doing more with less).
• Dematerialization (securities) - moving from handling paper securities certificates to book form, usually electronic.
  • Demat accounts - a type of banking account in India where paper-based physical shares are stored electronically.
• Dematerialization of the art object - an idea in conceptual art where the art object is no longer material.
• Dematerialization (products) - using less or no material to deliver the same level of functionality.
• Materialization (science fiction) - fictional movement of objects without traveling through space.
• Teleportation (disambiguation) - the movement of objects from one place to another without travelling through space.

In finance and financial law, dematerialization refers to the substitution of paper-form securities by book-entry securities. This is a form of indirect holding system where an intermediary, such as a broker or central securities depository holds a record of the ownership of shares usually in electronic format. The dematerialization of securities such as stocks has been a major trend since the late 1960s, with the result that by 2010 the majority of global securities were held in dematerialized form.

In economics, dematerialization refers to the absolute or relative reduction in the quantity of materials required to serve economic functions in society. In common terms, dematerialization means doing more with less. This concept is similar to ephemeralization as proposed by Buckminster Fuller.

In 1972, the Club of Rome in its report The Limits to Growth predicted a steadily increasing demand for material as both economies and populations grew. The report predicted that continually increasing resource demand would eventually lead to an abrupt economic collapse. Studies on material use and economic growth show instead that society is gaining the same economic growth with much less physical material required. Between 1977 and 2001, the amount of material required to meet all needs of Americans fell from 1.18 trillion pounds to 1.08 trillion pounds, even though the country's population increased by 55 million people. Al Gore similarly noted in 1999 that since 1949, while the economy tripled, the weight of goods produced did not change.

By most measures, quality of life improved from 1977 to 2001. While consumer demand is constantly increasing, consumers demand services such as communication, heating and housing, and not the raw materials needed to provide these. As a result, there is incentives to provide these with less materials. Copper wire has been replaced with fiber-optics, vinyl records with MP3 players while cars, refrigerators and numerous other items have gotten lighter.

The dematerialization of a product literally means less, or better yet, no material is used to deliver the same level of functionality to the user. Sharing, borrowing and the organization of group services that facilitate and cater for communities needs could alleviate the requirement of ownership of many products.

In his book ‘'In the Bubble: designing in a complex world'’, John Thakara states that "the average consumer power tool is used for ten minutes in its entire life - but it takes hundreds of times its own weight to manufacture such an object”. A product service system with shared tools could simply offer access to them when needed. This shift from a reliance on products to services is the process of dematerialization. Digital music distribution systems, car clubs, bike hire schemes and laundry services are all examples of dematerialization.

Dematerialization of the art object is an idea in conceptual art. In "Six Years: The Dematerialization of the Art Object" Lucy Lippard characterizes the period of 1966 to 1972 as one in which the art object was dematerialised through the new artistic practices of conceptual art.