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Materials Science
The Materials Science Tetrahedron, which often also includes Characterization at
the center Materials science is an interdisciplinary field involving the
properties of matter and its applications to various areas of science and
engineering. This science investigates the relationship between the structure of
materials and their properties. It includes elements of applied physics and
chemistry, as well as chemical, mechanical, civil and electrical engineering.
With significant media attention to nanoscience and nanotechnology in the recent
years, materials science has been propelled to the forefront at many
universities, sometimes controversially.
The material of choice of a given era is often its defining point: the stone
age, Bronze Age, and steel age are examples. Materials science is one of the
oldest forms of engineering and applied science, deriving from the manufacture
of ceramics. Modern materials science evolved directly from metallurgy, which
itself evolved from mining. A major breakthrough in the understanding of
materials occurred in the late 19th century, when Willard Gibbs demonstrated
that thermodynamic properties relating to atomic structure in various phases are
related to the physical properties of a material. Important elements of modern
materials science are a product of the space race: the understanding and
engineering of the metallic alloys, and silica and carbon materials, used in the
construction of space vehicles enabling the exploration of space. Materials
science has driven, and been driven by, the development of revolutionary
technologies such as plastics, semiconductors, and biomaterials. Radical
materials advances can drive the creation of new products or even new
industries, but stable industries also employ materials scientists to make
incremental improvements and troubleshoot issues with currently used materials.
Industrial applications of materials science include materials design,
cost-benefit tradeoffs in industrial production of materials, processing
techniques (casting, rolling, welding, ion implantation, crystal growth,
thin-film deposition, sintering, glassblowing, etc.), and analytical techniques
(characterization techniques such as electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction,
calorimetry, nuclear microscopy (HEFIB), Rutherford backscattering, neutron
diffraction, etc.).
Materials science encompasses various classes of materials, each of which may
constitute a separate field. Materials are sometimes classified by the type of
bonding present between the atoms:
1. Ionic crystals
2. Covalent crystals
3. Metals
4. Intermetallics
5. Semiconductors
6. Polymers
7. Composite materials
8. Vitreous materials
Topics that form the basis of materials science
Thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, kinetics and physical chemistry, for
phase stability, transformations (physical and chemical) and diagrams.
Crystallography and chemical bonding, for understanding how atoms in a material
are arranged.
Mechanics, to understand the mechanical properties of materials and their
structural applications.
Solid-state physics and quantum mechanics, for the understanding of the
electronic, thermal, magnetic, chemical, structural and optical properties of
materials.
Diffraction and wave mechanics, for the characterization of materials.
Chemistry and polymer science, for the understanding of plastics, colloids,
ceramics, liquid crystals, solid state chemistry, and polymers.
Biology, for the integration of materials into biological systems.
Continuum mechanics and statistics, for the study of fluid flows and ensemble
systems.
Mechanics of materials, for the study of the relation between the mechanical
behavior of materials and their microstructures. Learn Materials Science,
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