Material Properties, Advanced Materials, and Modern Technologies

Material Properties and Characteristics

• Mechanisms: density, hardness, toughness, ductility, and fragility.
• Thermal: melting temperature, thermal conductivity, and thermal expansion.
• Electromagnetic: electrical conductivity.
• Chemistry: resistance to corrosion.
• Acoustics: sound conductivity.
• Optics: color, transparency, reflectivity, and refractive index.

Material Organization and Composites

Materials can be organized in four ways according to their complexity:

1. Chemical elements
2. Chemical compounds
3. Mixtures of materials (alloys)
4. Composites

Composites are materials composed of two or more materials that have very different chemical or physical properties. Together, they form a substance with properties that are, in turn, different from those of its components separately. Examples include plywood or polyamide.

Formation of Elements

Elements are formed in four primary locations:

• In the first moments of the universe's life
• Inside of stars
• In supernova explosions
• In laboratories

Electronic Glass

Electronic glass changes color based on incident light. This not only decreases the temperature inside rooms but also, by reflecting light, prevents the penetration of ultraviolet and infrared rays, thereby protecting human skin and the color of objects.

Niobium Applications

Niobium is used in the manufacture of high-magnetic-power magnets and is key to the development of micromotors, such as those used in hard drives. It also has many applications in computers, aerospace, medical implants, and magnetic levitation.

Mineral and Ore Definitions

A mineral is a solid compound that occurs naturally in the Earth's crust. Its composition always includes at least one metal and one nonmetal. An ore is a mineral that contains sufficient quantities of metal of economic interest.

Understanding Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology is an applied science that addresses the design, manufacture, and application of materials and equipment at the nanoscale.

Semiconductors

Semiconductors conduct electricity more or less effectively by varying the temperature at which they operate. The most important are silicon and germanium.

Electronic Ink Technology

Electronic ink is a product developed by E Ink and is the first step towards replacing traditional paper with a new medium offering all-new features. For reading, it is exactly like regular paper, but its magic comes from the ability to erase the page to create a new one. This means that a single sheet can store and display up to 10,000 pages of a conventional book.

Environmental Impact of Paper Manufacturing

Problems associated with the manufacture of paper include:

• Deforestation.
• The enormous amount of water needed for cellulose separation.
• The pollution of rivers due to the use of sulfur compounds.
• The energy used to operate the machinery.