Materials

A material is a substance or mixture of substances that constitutes an object. Materials can be pure or impure, living or non-living matter. Materials can be classified based on their physical and chemical properties, or on their geological origin or biological function. Materials science is the study of materials and their applications.

Materiales

材料

Raw materials can be processed in different ways to influence their properties, by purification, shaping or the introduction of other materials. New materials can be produced from raw materials by synthesis. In industry, materials are inputs to manufacturing processes to produce products or more complex materials.

Matériaux

المواد

Материалы

The structure and composition of a material can be determined by microscopy or spectroscopy. In engineering, materials can be categorised according to their microscopic structure:

Ceramics: non-metal, inorganic solids.
Glasses: amorphous solids.
Metals: pure or combined chemical elements with specific chemical bonding behavior.
Polymers: materials based on long carbon or silicon chains.
Hybrids: combinations of multiple materials, for example composites.

In foams and textiles, the chemical structure is less relevant to immediately observable properties than larger-scale material features: the holes in foams, and the weave in textiles.

Malzemeler

सामग्री

The oldest materials are natural materials, such as tree trunks, branches, boulders, animal skins, and so on. A humorous picture of such applications is presented in the cartoon series “The Flintstones”. Gradually, man learned to further process materials from nature into clothing, weapons and utensils. Some key technologies were:

Baking clay into pottery.
Using clay for walls.
Tanning animal hides into leather.
Processing flax into linen, sheepskin into woolen clothing.
Metalworking.

Various prehistoric periods are named after the material technologies available (Stone Age, Copper Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age). In the twentieth century, the number of possibilities was greatly expanded by the development of plastics. Many new materials have been developed as a by-product of aerospace technology, including new types of technical ceramics and memory foam (used in mattresses).