In this course we investigate solid materials.

 

Solid materials are divided into 4 categories:

 

METALS

 

CERAMICS

 

POLYMERS

 

COMPOSITES

 

Examples of each

 

1) steel, aluminium, titanium, nickel

 

2) brick, china, glass, ‘curling stone’, ‘snooker ball’, cement

 

3) plastics, rubber, cotton, string

 

4) COMBINATIONS fibreglass (plastic + glass), lycra (stretchy polymer + strong polymer), CFRP (carbon fibres + plastic), fibre-reinforced metals (metal + polymer)

 

We’ll have to decide for any material we meet which group it belongs to.

 

We’ll learn what it is about each material that makes them different – the way their molecules are arranged.

 

We’ll examine what is similar and what is different about each material and each group – its PROPERTIES

 

What properties are we most interested in?

 

Strength, wear resistance, stretchiness, density, ability to resist heat, cost.

 

keywords:

 

stress, strain, elastic, plastic, brittle, tough, malleable, hard, crystaline, amorphous,