Materials Principles and Practice

Materials Principles and Practice deals with materials science in the technological context of making and using materials. Topics covered include the nature of materials such as crystals, an atomic view of solids, temperature effects on materials, and the mechanical and chemical properties of materials. This book is comprised of seven chapters and begins with an overview of the properties of different kinds of material, the ways in which materials can be shaped, and the uses to which they can be put. The next chapter describes the state of matter as a balance between the tendencies of atoms to stick together (by chemical bonding) or rattle apart (by thermal agitation), paying particular attention to ionic bonds and ionic crystals, the structure and properties of polymers, and transition metals. The reader is also introduced to how the structure of materials, especially microstructure, can be manipulated to give desired properties via thermal, mechanical, and chemical agents of change. This text concludes by describing the chemistry of processing and service of various materials. Exercises and self-assessment questions with answers are given at the end of each chapter, together with a set of objectives. This monograph will be a valuable resource for students of materials science and the physical sciences.