Category:Materials

Background

Dielectric constant measurements - signal corps test site, Little America V 1955-56.

Since working with wood and stone, humanity has learned to process and synthesize a wide range of different materials. Metallurgical advancements allowed for the processing of bronze, iron and steel. Early alchemists performed simple chemistry tasks such as fermentation and extraction. Despite these early advancements, chemistry emerged as a separate formal discipline in 1661 with Robert Boyle's The Sceptical Chymist. 18th century developments in chemistry led to numerous advancements in medicine and other applied areas. With the industrial revolution of the 19th century, however, the need arose to scale up material and chemical reactions for large-scale purposes, and materials engineering and chemical engineering were born. The 20th century saw further expansion into the industrial use of artificial plastic and fossil fuels, as well as the development of magnetic recording media, piezoelectric devices, superconductors and nanotechnology.

Subcategories

• 3-d printing - The generation of three dimensional objects by printers which implement material sprays
• Biological & biomedical materials - materials evolving from biological structures
• Ceramics - organic, non-metallic solids prepared by heat and resistant to electricity. Ceramic fiber used for insulation is a kind of aluminum silicate fiber
• Chemicals - Topics pertaining to various individual chemicals and their properties
• Composite materials - often called simply composites, materials composed of two or more constituent materials with significantly different characteristics which maintain their distinctiveness when combined
• Compounds - Compounds are substances containing two or more elements, including various silicon, gallium and lead compounds
• Conductivity & superconductivity - Topics related to electrical conductivity, including semiconductors, superconductors and current
• Crystalline materials - solid materials whose constituent atoms are arranged in an orderly and repeating pattern in three dimensions
• Dielectrics - Electrical insulators which can be polarized
• Electric breakdown - Topics dealing with the reduction of resistance in an insulator, including discharges, sparks and flashover
• Electronic materials - Materials used in the construction of electronic components
• Elements - Chemical elements including carbon, hydrogen and roentgenium
• Films - thin chemical coverings applied to a material's surface
• Fluids - substances that continually deform under applied pressure, composing both liquids and gases
• Gasses - Various materials in a gaseous state
• Geosynthetics - Polymers used in civil engineering applications
• Glass - Topics dealing with all aspects of glasses
• High-temperature materials - Materials capable of operating at high temperatures
• Inorganic materials - Properties and topics dealing with inorganic materials
• Insulation - Insulators are materials which resist the flow of electrical current
• Intermetallics - Topics dealing with metals with solid-state phase properties
• Lightweight materials - Topics dealing with materials with lightweight properties
• Material movement and transportation - Issues dealing with the movement and transportation of various materials
• Material storage - Storage of materials such as fuel and water
• Materials science and technology - Various topics dealing with the science of materials including chemical analysis, separation processes and filtration
• Media - Media used in the sense of materials used to store and deliver information
• Metallurgy - The study and engineering of metals
• Metals - Metals tend to be excellent conductors of electricity and are an invaluable component of electrical engineering
• Metamaterials - artificial materials engineered to have properties that may not be found in nature, often used in producing optic materials
• Mineral processing - The process of separating materials from ore
• Mining - The science, technique and business of mineral discovery, extraction and preliminary treatment.
• Nanotechnology - The science and study of creating and manipulating objects on an atomic scale
• Oils - a substance that is liquid at normal temperatures but does not mix with water
• Packaging - Preparing products and electronics for commercial distribution
• Photoconducting materials - materials that become more electrically conductive due to the absorption of electromagnetic radiation
• Plastics - Synthetic materials that are usually polymers derived from petrochemicals
• Polymers - a large molecule composed of repeating structural units
• Powder technology - Topics dealing with materials separated into tiny particles
• Resins - the hydrocarbon secretion of some plants, usually conifers, which can produce varnishes, adhesives and other products
• Rolling & processing - Topics related to various metalworking methods involving rolling
• Soft matter - An interdisciplinary area between biology, chemistry and physics
• Soils - Materials which can support plant life
• Steelmaking - Various processes used to create steel, an alloy of iron and carbon
• Ultrasonics, ferroelectrics, and frequency control - Sciences pertaining to the generation, transmission, and detection of ultrasonic waves and related phenomena, medical ultrasound and associated technologies, ferroelectric, piezoelectric, and piezomagnetic materials, frequency generation and control, timing, and time coordination and distribution