Historical Perspective
Materials are so important in the development of civilization that we associate ages with them. In the origin of human life on earth, the Stone Age, people used only natural materials like stone, clay, skins, and wood. When people found copper and how to make it harder by alloying, the Bronze Age started about 3000 BC. The use of iron and steel, stronger materials that gave advantage in wars started at about 1200 BC. The next big step was the discovery of a cheap process to make steel around 1850, which enabled the railroads and the building of the modern infrastructure of the industrial world.
Importance of Materials
A material is defined as a substance (most often a solid, but other condensed phases can be included) that is intended to be used for certain applications. There are a myriad of materials around us—they can be found in anything from buildings to spacecraft’s. Materials can generally be divided into two classes: crystalline and non-crystalline. The traditional examples of materials are metals, ceramics and polymers. New and advanced materials that are being developed include semiconductors, nanomaterials, biomaterials etc. The material of choice of a given era is often a defining point. Phrases such as Stone Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Steel Age are great examples. Originally deriving from the manufacture of ceramics and its putative derivative metallurgy, materials science is one of the…
Introduction
Materials science, also commonly known as materials science and engineering, is an interdisciplinary field which deals with the discovery and design of new materials. This relatively new scientific field involves studying materials through the materials paradigm (synthesis, structure, properties and performance). It incorporates elements of physics and chemistry, and is at the forefront of Nano science and nanotechnology research. In recent years, materials science has become more widely known as a specific field of science and engineering.
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