"Materials science is an interdisciplinary field of researching and discovering materials. Materials engineering is an engineering field of finding uses for materials in other fields and industries."
This topic covers the chemistry of materials, including polymers, ceramics, and metals, and their applications in industry and technology.
Chemical bonds: The types of chemical bonds that hold materials together, such as covalent, ionic, and metallic bonds.
Structure of materials: The arrangement of atoms or molecules in a material, which affects their properties.
Crystal structures: The specific arrangement of atoms or molecules in a crystalline material, which determines its physical and chemical properties.
Phase transitions: The changes in the physical or chemical properties of a material due to changes in temperature, pressure, or other external factors.
Thermodynamics: The study of energy and its transformations, which is important for understanding the behavior of materials under different conditions.
Kinetics: The study of how quickly reactions occur, which is important for understanding how materials change over time.
Materials synthesis: The methods used to create new materials, such as chemical vapor deposition or sputtering.
Properties of materials: The physical and chemical properties of materials, such as hardness, conductivity, and reactivity, which determine their usefulness for different applications.
Characterization techniques: The tools and techniques used to analyze the structure and properties of materials, such as X-ray diffraction and spectroscopy.
Nanomaterials: Materials with structures that are smaller than 100 nanometers, which can exhibit unique properties due to their small size.
Electronic and optical materials: Materials that are useful for electronic or optical applications, such as semiconductors or optical fibers.
Polymers: Materials made up of long chains of repeating units, which can have a wide range of properties and uses.
Biomaterials: Materials that are designed to interact with biological systems, such as medical implants or drug delivery systems.
Energy materials: Materials that are used for energy storage or conversion, such as batteries or photovoltaic cells.
"The intellectual origins of materials science stem from the Age of Enlightenment, when researchers began to use analytical thinking from chemistry, physics, and engineering to understand ancient, phenomenological observations in metallurgy and mineralogy."
"As such, the field was long considered by academic institutions as a sub-field of these related fields."
"Beginning in the 1940s, materials science began to be more widely recognized as a specific and distinct field of science and engineering."
"The understanding of processing-structure-properties relationships is called the materials paradigm."
"This paradigm is used to advance understanding in a variety of research areas, including nanotechnology, biomaterials, and metallurgy."
"Materials science is also an important part of forensic engineering and failure analysis – investigating materials, products, structures, or components, which fail or do not function as intended, causing personal injury or damage to property."
"Such investigations are key to understanding, for example, the causes of various aviation accidents and incidents."
"Materials scientists emphasize understanding how the history of a material (processing) influences its structure, and thus the material's properties and performance."
"Materials science still incorporates elements of physics, chemistry, and engineering."
"Materials engineering is an engineering field of finding uses for materials in other fields and industries."
"Major technical universities around the world created dedicated schools for its study."
"The understanding of processing-structure-properties relationships is called the materials paradigm."
"...research areas, including nanotechnology, biomaterials, and metallurgy."
"...understand ancient, phenomenological observations in metallurgy and mineralogy."
"...investigating materials, products, structures, or components, which fail or do not function as intended, causing personal injury or damage to property."
"...investigating materials, products, structures, or components, which fail or do not function as intended..."
"Beginning in the 1940s, materials science began to be more widely recognized as a specific and distinct field of science and engineering."
"When researchers began to use analytical thinking from chemistry, physics, and engineering to understand ancient, phenomenological observations in metallurgy and mineralogy."
"...incorporates elements of physics, chemistry, and engineering."