Materials science

Materials science encompasses all classes of materials, the study of each of which may be considered a separate field: metals and metallurgy, ceramics, semiconductors and other electronic materials, polymers, and Biomaterials. Metallurgy and ceramics have long and separate histories as engineering disciplines, but because the science that underlies these disciplines applies to all classes of materials, materials science is recognized as a distinct discipline.

Materials science is related to materials engineering, which tends to focus on processing techniques (casting, rolling, welding, ion implantation, crystal growth, thin-film deposition, sintering, glassblowing, etc.), analytical techniques (electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, calorimetry, nuclear microscopy (HEFIB) etc.), materials design, and cost/benefit tradeoffs in industrial production of materials.

Sub-fields of materials science

• Crystallography --- the study of the physics of crystals, including
  • defects in crystals, such as grain boundaries and dislocations, and their effects on physical properties;
  • diffraction techniques, for phase identification.
• Metallurgy --- the study of metals
• Ceramics
• Biomaterials
• Solid-state chemistry --- the study of chemistry taking place within solids
• Solid-state physics --- usually considered the study of quantum effects in solid material, such as semiconduction or superconduction.
• Continuum mechanics --- the study of solids and fluids, assuming that they are continuous materials (rather than made of atoms).

Note that some practitioners often consider rheology a sub-field of materials science, because it can cover any material that flows. However, a typical rheology paper covers non-Newtonian fluid dynamics, so we place it as a sub-field of Continuum mechanics.

Related topics in physics

• Thermodynamics, for phase stability, phase transformations and phase diagrams.
• Kinetics, applied to the rates of phase transformations and diffusion.

See also

• Timeline of materials technology
• Bio-based materials

Referenced By