Material
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A material is a
Raw materials can be processed in different ways to influence their properties, by purification, shaping or the introduction of other materials. New materials can be produced from raw materials by synthesis.
In
Historical elements
Materials chart the history of humanity. The system of the three prehistoric ages (Stone Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age) were succeeded by historical ages: steel age in the 19th century, polymer age in the middle of the following century (plastic age) and silicon age in the second half of the 20th century.[2]
Classification by use
Materials can be broadly categorized in terms of their use, for example:
- Building materials are used for construction
- Building insulation materialsare used to retain heat within buildings
- Refractory materialsare used for high-temperature applications
- Nuclear materialsare used for nuclear power and weapons
- Aerospace materials are used in aircraft and other aerospace applications
- Biomaterials are used for applications interacting with living systems
Material selection is a process to determine which material should be used for a given application.
Classification by structure
The relevant structure of materials has a different length scale depending on the material. The structure and composition of a material can be determined by microscopy or spectroscopy.
Microstructure
In engineering, materials can be categorised according to their microscopic structure:[3]: 15–17
- synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymersas a main ingredient.
- Ceramics: non-metal, inorganic solids
- Glasses: amorphous solids
- crystal latticethat extends in all directions.
- Metals: pure or combined chemical elements with specific chemical bonding behavior
- Alloys: a mixture of chemical elements of which at least one is a metal.
- chains
- Steels: an alloy of iron and carbon with improved strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron.
- composites.
Larger-scale structure
A
In
Classification by properties
Materials can be compared and classified by their large-scale physical properties.
Mechanical properties
Mechanical properties determine how a material responds to applied
Examples include:
Thermal properties
Materials may degrade or undergo changes of properties at different temperatures. Thermal properties also include the material's
Other properties
Materials can be compared and categorized by any quantitative measure of their behavior under various conditions. Notable additional properties include the optical, electrical, and magnetic behavior of materials.[3]: 5–7
See also
- philosophy of matter
- Matter
- Category:Materials
References
- ^ "Definition of MATERIAL". Merriam-Webster. 2023-08-20. Retrieved 2023-08-29.
- ^ "Materials that shaped history | School of Materials Science and Engineering – UNSW Sydney". UNSW Sites. Retrieved 2023-08-29.
- ^ ISBN 9781856178952.
- S2CID 36925376.