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Materials science is an interdisciplinary field concerned with understanding the relationships between the structure of materials and their properties and using this knowledge to design materials for specific applications.

In engineering practice, materials science and engineering are often described through the processing–structure–properties–performance paradigm, in which processing determines structure, structure determines properties, and properties ultimately control the performance of a material in service. The intellectual origins of materials science stem from the Age of Enlightenment, when researchers began to use analytical thinking from chemistry, physics, and engineering to understand ancient, phenomenological observations in metallurgy and mineralogy. Materials science still incorporates elements of physics, chemistry, and engineering. Beginning in the 1940s, materials science began to be more widely recognized as a specific and distinct field of science and engineering, and major technical universities around the world created dedicated schools for its study. By studying how the history of a material (processing) influences its structure, properties, and performance, materials scientists have made many contributions to new technologies in biomaterials, metallurgy, and nanotechnology. Materials science is also used by forensic engineers and failure analysts to understand why and how critical components fail, which helps prevent dangerous and costly accidents in areas such as aviation.

Originally deriving from the manufacture of ceramics and its putative derivative metallurgy, materials science is one of the oldest forms of engineering and applied science. Modern materials science evolved directly from metallurgy, which itself evolved from the use of fire. Important elements of modern materials science were products of the Space Race; the understanding and engineering of the metallic alloys, and silica and carbon materials, used in building space vehicles enabling the exploration of space. Materials science has driven, and been driven by, the development of revolutionary technologies such as rubbers, plastics, semiconductors, and biomaterials. Before the 1960s (and in some cases decades after), many eventual materials science departments were metallurgy or ceramics engineering departments, reflecting the 19th and early 20th-century emphasis on metals and ceramics. Due to the expanded knowledge of the link between atomic and molecular processes as well as the overall properties of materials, the design of materials came to be based on specific desired properties. The materials science field has since broadened to include every class of materials, including ceramics, polymers, semiconductors, magnetic materials, biomaterials, and nanomaterials, generally classified into three distinct groups: ceramics, metals, and polymers. The prominent change in materials science during the recent decades is active usage of computer simulations to find new materials, predict properties and understand phenomena.

The basis of materials science is studying the interplay between the structure of materials, the processing methods to make that material, and the resulting material properties.

Structure is one of the most important components of the field of materials science. Materials science examines the structure of materials from the atomic scale, all the way up to the macro scale.

Most materials have a crystalline structure, but some important materials do not exhibit regular crystal structure.

Together with materials science departments, physics, chemistry, and many engineering departments are involved in materials research.

The study of these materials involves knowledge of materials science and solid-state physics or condensed matter physics.

Another application of materials science in industry is making composite materials.

Thus, materials science and engineering emerged in many ways: renaming and/or combining existing metallurgy and ceramics engineering departments; splitting from existing solid state physics research (itself growing into condensed matter physics); pulling in relatively new polymer engineering and polymer science; recombining from the previous, as well as chemistry, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, and electrical engineering; and more. Materials physics is the use of physics to describe the physical properties of materials. Current fields that materials physicists work in include electronic, optical, and magnetic materials, novel materials and structures, quantum phenomena in materials, nonequilibrium physics, and soft condensed matter physics.

Quick Facts

• The materials science field has since broadened to include every class of materials, including ceramics, polymers, semiconductors, magnetic materials, biomaterials, and nanomaterials, generally classified into three distinct groups: ceramics, metals, and polymers.
• In engineering practice, materials science and engineering are often described through the processing–structure–properties–performance paradigm, in which processing determines structure, structure determines properties, and properties ultimately control the performance of a material in service.
• Important elements of modern materials science were products of the Space Race; the understanding and engineering of the metallic alloys, and silica and carbon materials, used in building space vehicles enabling the exploration of space.
• Materials science still incorporates elements of physics, chemistry, and engineering.
• Originally deriving from the manufacture of ceramics and its putative derivative metallurgy, materials science is one of the oldest forms of engineering and applied science.

Source material: Wikipedia - "Materials science". Adapted and summarized for DiscoverScroll. Original contributors are credited through the linked Wikipedia article. Read original on Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes were made from the original.