Materials science includes those parts of chemistry, physics, geology, and even biology that deal with the physical, chemical or biological properties of materials. Despite having the word "science" in its title, materials science is generally considered to be a branch of engineering.

Materials science encompasses four classes of materials, the study of each of which may be considered a separate field:

1. metals
2. ceramics
3. polymers
4. composites

Metallurgy and ceramics have long and separate histories as engineering disciplines, but because the science that underlies these disciplines applies to all classes of materials, materials science is recognized as a distinct discipline.

Materials science is related to materials engineering, which tends to focus on processing techniques (casting, rolling, welding, ion implantation, crystal growth , thin-film deposition, sintering, glassblowing, etc.), analytical techniques (electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, calorimetry, nuclear microscopy (HEFIB) etc.), materials design, and cost/benefit tradeoffs in industrial production of materials.

Contents

1 Sub-fields of materials science 2 See also 2.1 Related topics in physics 2.2 Other topics

Sub-fields of materials science

• Nanotechnology --- the creation and study of molecularly engineered materials (nanomaterials) with structures on the length scale of nanometers.
• Crystallography --- the study of the physics of crystals, including
  • defects in crystals, such as grain boundaries and dislocations, and their effects on physical properties;
  • diffraction techniques, for phase identification.
• Metallurgy --- the study of metals
• Ceramics, which includes semiconductors and other electronic materials
• Biomaterials --- materials that can be used in the human body
• Solid-state chemistry --- the study of chemistry taking place within solids
• Solid-state physics --- usually considered the study of quantum effects in solid material, such as semiconduction or superconduction.
• Continuum mechanics --- the study of solids and fluids, assuming that they are continuous materials (rather than made of atoms).

Note that some practitioners often consider rheology a sub-field of materials science, because it can cover any material that flows. However, a typical rheology paper covers non-Newtonian fluid dynamics, so we place it as a sub-field of Continuum mechanics. See also granular material.

See also

Related topics in physics

• Thermodynamics, for phase stability, phase transformations and phase diagrams.
• Kinetics, applied to the rates of phase transformations and diffusion.

Other topics

• Timeline of materials technology
• Bio-based materials
• Liquid crystal
• Important publications in materials science

Chemistry

Analytical chemistry | Organic chemistry | Inorganic chemistry | Physical chemistry | Polymer chemistry | Biochemistry | Materials science | Environmental chemistry | Pharmacy | Thermochemistry | Electrochemistry | Nuclear chemistry | Computational chemistry

Periodic table | List of compounds