Introduction (Chapter 1 – Callister)

Historical Perspective

 Historically, the development and advancement of societies have been intimately tied to
the members’ ability to produce and manipulate materials to fill their needs. In fact, early
civilizations have been designated by the level of their materials development (Stone Age,
Bronze Age, Iron Age).
 The earliest humans had access to only a very limited number of materials, those that occur
naturally: stone, wood, clay, skins, and so on. With time, new techniques were discovered
that produced materials with far superior properties than the natural ones. Furthermore, it
was discovered that the properties of a material could be altered by heat treatments and by
addition of other substances. Thus, tens of thousands of different materials have evolved
with specialized characteristics that meet the needs of our modern and complex society,
including metals, plastics, glasses, and fibers.

Materials Science and Engineering

 Materials science involves investigating the relationships that exist between the structures
and properties of materials (i.e., why materials have their properties). In contrast, materials
engineering involves, on the basis of these structure – property correlations, designing or
engineering the structure of a material to produce a predetermined set of properties.
 The role of a materials scientist is to develop or synthesize new materials, whereas a
materials engineer is called upon to create new products or systems using existing materials
and/or to develop techniques for processing materials.
 A material property is a material trait in terms of the kind and magnitude of response to a
specified imposed stimulus. Six different property classification of materials determine
their applicability: mechanical, electrical, thermal, magnetic, optical, and deteriorative.
 One important relationship in the science of materials is the dependence of a material`s
properties on its structural elements. By structure, we mean how the internal component(s)
of the material is (are) arranged. In terms of (and with increasing) dimensionality, structural

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 elements include subatomic structure, atomic structure, nanoscopic structure, microscopic
structure, and macrostructure.
 With regard to the design, production, and utilization of materials, there are four elements
to consider – processing, structure, properties, and performance. The performance of a
material depends on its properties, which in turn are a function of its structure(s);
Structure(s) is (are) determined by how the material was processed.
 The interrelationship among processing, structure, properties, and performance of
materials may be depicted in linear fashion as in the schematic illustration shown in Figure
1.2.

Why Study Materials Science and Engineering?

 Why do engineers and scientists study materials? Simply, because things engineers design
are made of materials.
 Many times, an engineer has the option of selecting a best material from the thousands
available. Three important criteria in materials selection are in-service conditions to which
the material will be subjected, any deterioration of material properties during operation,
and economies or cost of the fabricated piece.

Classification of Materials

 On the basis of chemistry and atomic structure, materials are classified into three general
categories: metals (metallic elements), ceramics (compounds between metallic and
nonmetallic elements), and polymers (compounds composed of carbon, hydrogen, and
other nonmetallic elements). In addition, composites are composed of at least two different
material types.

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Metals

 Metals are composed of one or more metallic elements (e.g., iron, aluminum, copper,
titanium, gold, nickel), and often also nonmetallic elements (e.g., carbon, nitrogen, oxygen)
in relatively small amounts.
 Atoms in metals and their alloys are arranged in a very orderly manner and are relatively
dense in comparison to the ceramics and polymers (Figure 1.4).

Ceramics

 Ceramics are compounds between metallic and nonmetallic elements; they are most
frequently oxides, nitrides, and carbides.
 With regard to mechanical behavior, ceramic materials are relatively stiff and strong –
stiffnesses and strengths are comparable to those of the metals (Figure 1.5 and 1.6). In
addition, they are typically very hard.
 Historically, ceramics have exhibited extreme brittleness (lack of ductility) and are highly
susceptible to fracture (Figure 1.7).

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4
Polymers

 Polymers include the familiar plastic and rubber materials. Many of them are organic
compounds that are chemically based on carbon, hydrogen, and other nonmetallic elements
(i.e., O, N, and Si). Furthermore, they have very large molecular structures, often chainlike
in nature, that often have a backbone of carbon atoms.
 Polymers typically have low densities (Figure 1.4), whereas their mechanical
characteristics are generally dissimilar to those of the metallic and ceramic materials – they
are not as stiff or strong as these other material types (Figure 1.5 and 1.6).
 Polymers are extremely ductile and pliable (i.e., plastic), which means they are easily
formed into complex shapes. They are relatively inert chemically and unreactive in a large
number of environments. One major drawback of the polymers is their tendency to soften
and/or decompose at modest temperatures, which, in some instances, limits their use.

Composites

 A composite is composed of two (or more) individual materials that come from the
categories of metals, ceramics, and polymers. The design goal of a composite is to achieve

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 a combination of properties that is not displayed by any single material and also to
incorporate the best characteristics of each of the component materials.
 A large number of composite types are represented by different combinations of metals,
ceramics, and polymers. Furthermore, some naturally occurring materials are composites
– for example, wood and bone.

Advanced Materials

 Another materials category is the advanced materials that are used in high-tech applications,
including semiconductors (having electrical conductivities intermediate between those of
conductors and insulators), biomaterials (which must be compatible with body tissues),
smart materials (those that sense and respond to changes in their environments in
predetermined manners), and nanomaterials (those that have structural features on the order
of a nanometer).

Semiconductors

 Semiconductors have electrical properties that are intermediate between those of electrical
conductors (i.e., metals and metal alloys) and insulators (i.e., ceramics and polymers).
 The electrical characteristics of these materials are extremely sensitive to the presence of
minute concentrations of impurity atoms, for which the concentrations may be controlled
over very small spatial regions.
 Semiconductors have made possible the advent of integrated circuitry that has totally
revolutionized the electronics and computer industries (not to mention our lives) over the
past four decades.

Biomaterials

 The length and quality of our lives are being extended and improved, in part, due to
advancements in the ability to replace diseased and injured body parts. Replacement
implants are constructed of biomaterials – nonviable (i.e., nonliving) materials that are

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 implanted into the body, so that they function in a reliable, safe, and physiologically
satisfactory manner, while interacting with the living tissue.
 Biomaterials must be biocompatible – compatible with body tissues and fluids with which
they are in contact over acceptable time periods. Biocompatible materials must neither
elicit rejection or physiologically unacceptable responses nor release toxic substances.

Smart Materials

 Smart (or intelligent) materials are a group of new and state-of-the-art materials now being
developed that will have a significant influence on many of our technologies. The adjective
smart implies that these materials are able to sense changes in their environments and then
respond to these changes in predetermined manners – traits that are also found in living
organisms.

Nanomaterials

 Nanomaterials may be any one of the four basic types – metals, ceramics, polymers, or
composites.
 Because of their unique and unusual properties, nanomaterials are finding niches in
electronic, biomedical, sporting, energy production, and other industrial applications.
Some are:
1. Catalytic converters for automobiles.
2. Nanocarbons – fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, and graphene.
3. Particles of carbon black as reinforcement for automobile tires.
4. Nanocomposites.
5. Magnetic nanosize grains that are used for hard disk drives.
6. Magnetic particles that store data on magnetic tapes.