Basic Materials Studies

BASIC Materials Studies is a supplement to a variety of materials courses which intends to indicate how simple computer programs, such as Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code (BASIC), can be used to illustrate and clarify materials principles. The book starts by providing an introduction to BASIC including the BASIC approach, the elements and different computers and variants of BASIC, checking programs, and graphic and special commands. Chapter 2 tackles the three aspects of the structure of materials: the arrangement of atoms in crystals; the composition and quantity of phases within the structure; and the microscopical assessment of the distribution of phases in a structure. The book continues by discussing the essential theory and programs of thermodynamics and kinetics of solids; mechanical properties of polymers; and deformation and strength of crystalline materials. The last chapter of the book illustrates the materials available; the variety of their properties; and the combinations of characteristics that are available or impossible to achieve with real materials. Students with only a brief introduction to BASIC or engaged on a variety of vocational and non-vocational materials courses will find this book invaluable.