Madilon was a type of naturally-occurring alloy, which had a unique molecular structure that gave it high tensile strength, while retaining a large amount of elasticity. These properties meant that the alloy could withstand the stresses of hyperspace travel, and so it was useful in the construction of hyperdrives. The amount of madilon required for a single hyperdrive was relatively small, but allowed the hyperdrive to be almost ten times smaller in size than one that did not contain madilon. Scientists were unable to develop a method for synthesizing madilon, so the only sources of it were the few planets in the galaxy that contained deposits of it.