Material Science and Communication Technologies

C. Thomsen's Classification of Materials and Historical Ages

C. Thomsen classified materials and historical ages: Stone Age (Paleolithic, Neolithic), Copper Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age. Other materials include wood, bone, ceramics, and leather.

Types of Materials

• Natural (e.g., wood, marble, granite)
• Artificial (created by changing natural materials)
• Synthetic (created in laboratories)

Historical Use of Materials

1. New needs lead to new materials.
2. New materials lead to new scientific discoveries.
3. Major discoveries of natural materials lead to further development of artificial materials.
4. Conflicts and wars arise over the control of natural resources.
5. Artificial materials evolve significantly during wartime.

Ceramics

Clay (mud) bricks, billets, fine porcelain clay. Refractories are materials with the ability to withstand high temperatures (furnace lining) and are made of various hardened materials. Cement includes plaster, lime, Portland cement, and mortar. Abrasives are very hard materials used to cut machines. Vitreous materials are made of silicon dioxide with other transparent amorphous oxide materials (glass).

Plastics

Plastics are chemical chains of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and halogens. Examples include PET, HDPE (garbage bags), PVC, LDPE, PP, PS, and others (mixed).

Metallic Materials

• Siderurgical (iron and steel for automotive structures)
• Precious (Au, Ag, Cu, Pt for jewelry and wiring)
• Lightweight alloys (aluminum, magnesium)
• Superalloys (titanium, cobalt, chromium)

Natural Fibers

• Animal: skins, wool, silk, cotton
• Vegetable: esparto, flax
• Mineral: asbestos (can cause cancer)

Artificial Fibers

Artificial fibers are created through the transformation of natural fibers, especially vegetable fibers (e.g., viscose rayon, acetate rayon).

Synthetic Fibers

Synthetic fibers are created in laboratories, such as nylon, tergal (polyester), and neoprene.

Remote Sensing

Remote sensing involves satellite monitoring to prevent problems (e.g., natural disasters). It is a set of techniques that enable Earth observation from satellites.

Resources

Fossil fuels (gas, coal, oil) are being depleted due to increasing needs.

Sensor Chips

Sensor chips help detect problems. Databases are used for detection.

Biomaterials

Biomaterials are used in medical applications (e.g., algae cultivation, prosthetics). They are strictly materials of biological origin and synthetic materials that interact with living things.

Smart Materials

Smart materials have the ability to change color, shape, or electromagnetic properties in response to environmental variations (light, sound, voltage), such as in garage door detectors.

Thin-Layer Materials

Thin-layer materials consist of layers of atoms on a substrate (e.g., the creation of diamonds).

Photonic Materials

Photonic materials emit light or allow you to vary the conditions of radiation (e.g., lasers, sensors, LEDs).

Ionic Conductors

Ionic conductors are materials with special ionic conductivity that allows prolonged driving circuitry (e.g., batteries, sensors).

Nanomaterials

Nanomaterials are materials that work at the atomic level, between one and one hundred nanometers.

ICT (Information and Communication Technologies)

ICT refers to Information and Communication Technologies.

Telecommunication

Telecommunication is communication over great distances by electromagnetic waves.

Telephone

Telephones enable voice conversations using electrical impulses, with two copper wires that connect each terminal with the local exchange (to communicate with older systems). Copper wire has been replaced by fiber optics, and the analog system has been replaced by a digital system (services require more bandwidth).

Satellite Communications

Satellite communications transmit signals over long distances, acting as signal repeaters.

• Passive: When acting as a mirror.
• Active: When receiving signals, amplifying them, and retransmitting them back at the same or a different frequency.

Ground control (antennas) is necessary for proper functioning. Satellites are geostationary at 35,000 km above Earth and travel at the same speed as the Earth (e.g., radio, TV).

Mobile Communication

The first mobile communication used radio waves (U.S. soldiers). Mobile infrastructure requires a complex network that allows communication as we keep moving.