Materials science

An elastomer is a polymer with viscoelasticity (having both viscosity and elasticity) and very weak inter-molecular forces, generally having low Young's modulus and high failure strain compared with other materials.

Aramid fibers are a class of heat-resistant and strong synthetic fibers.

Kevlar is the registered trademark for a para-aramid synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora.

In science, buckling is a mathematical instability, leading to a failure mode.

Adsorption is the adhesion of atoms, ions, or molecules from a gas, liquid, or dissolved solid to a surface.

An alloy is a mixture of metals or a mixture of a metal and another element.

In crystallography, crystal structure is a description of the ordered arrangement of atoms, ions or molecules in a crystalline material.

Crystallography is the experimental science of determining the arrangement of atoms in the crystalline solids (see crystal structure).

Electrical resistivity (also known as resistivity, specific electrical resistance, or volume resistivity) is an intrinsic property that quantifies how strongly a given material opposes the flow of electric current.

Hardness is a measure of how resistant solid matter is to various kinds of permanent shape change when a compressive force is applied.

A scanning electron microscope (SEM) is a type of electron microscope that produces images of a sample by scanning it with a focused beam of electrons.

A shape-memory alloy (SMA, smart metal, memory metal, memory alloy, muscle wire, smart alloy) is an alloy that "remembers" its original shape and that when deformed returns to its pre-deformed shape when heated.

Sputtering is a process whereby particles are ejected from a solid target material due to bombardment of the target by energetic particles, particularly, in the laboratory, gas ions.

Strength of materials, also called mechanics of materials, is a subject which deals with the behavior of solid objects subject to stresses and strains.

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is a microscopy technique in which a beam of electrons is transmitted through an ultra-thin specimen, interacting with the specimen as it passes through it.

Ultimate tensile strength (UTS), often shortened to tensile strength (TS) or ultimate strength, is the capacity of a material or structure to withstand loads tending to elongate, as opposed to compressive strength, which withstands loads tending to reduce size.

Cementite, also known as iron carbide, is an intermetallic compound of iron and carbon, more precisely an intermediate transition metal carbide with the formula Fe3C.

Hysteresis is the time-based dependence of a system's output on present and past inputs.

A phase diagram in physical chemistry, engineering, mineralogy, and materials science is a type of chart used to show conditions (pressure, temperature, volume, etc.) at which thermodynamically distinct phases occur and coexist at equilibrium.

A solid solution is a solid-state solution of one or more solutes in a solvent.

Carburizing, carburising (chiefly British English), or carburization is a heat treatment process in which iron or steel absorbs carbon while the metal is heated in the presence of a carbon bearing material, such as charcoal or carbon monoxide.

A fracture is the separation of an object or material into two or more pieces under the action of stress.

Thermal analysis is a branch of materials science where the properties of materials are studied as they change with temperature.

An ohmic contact is a non-rectifying electrical junction: a junction between two conductors that has a linear current–voltage (I-V) curve as with Ohm's law.

A photoresist is a light-sensitive material used in several industrial processes, such as photolithography and photoengraving, to form a patterned coating on a surface.

Viscoelasticity is the property of materials that exhibit both viscous and elastic characteristics when undergoing deformation.

X-ray crystallography is a tool used for identifying the atomic and molecular structure of a crystal, in which the crystalline atoms cause a beam of incident X-rays to diffract into many specific directions.

In solid-state physics, the electron mobility characterizes how quickly an electron can move through a metal or semiconductor, when pulled by an electric field.

Nondestructive testing or Non-destructive testing (NDT) is a wide group of analysis techniques used in science and technology industry to evaluate the properties of a material, component or system without causing damage.

Solid-state chemistry, also sometimes referred to as materials chemistry, is the study of the synthesis, structure, and properties of solid phase materials, particularly, but not necessarily exclusively of, non-molecular solids.

Photoelasticity is a method to determine the stress distribution in a material experimentally.

Surface states are electronic states found at the surface of materials.

Thermal spraying techniques are coating processes in which melted (or heated) materials are sprayed onto a surface.

A cermet is a composite material composed of ceramic (cer) and metallic (met) materials.

Wear is related to interactions between surfaces and specifically the removal and deformation of material on a surface as a result of mechanical action of the opposite surface.

Cemented carbide is a hard material used extensively in cutting tools for machining, as well as other industrial applications.

Chrome plating (less commonly chromium plating), often referred to simply as chrome, is a technique of electroplating a thin layer of chromium onto a metal or plastic object.

Nitriding is a heat treating process that diffuses nitrogen into the surface of a metal to create a case-hardened surface.

In materials science, deformation refers to any changes in the shape or size of an object due to- * an applied force (the deformation energy in this case is transferred through work) or * a change in temperature (the deformation energy in this case is transferred through heat).

In materials science, segregation refers to the enrichment of atoms, ions, or molecules at a microscopic region in a materials system.

Solids can be classified according to the nature of the bonding between their atomic or molecular components.

Photoelectrochemical processes are processes in photoelectrochemistry; they usually involve transforming light into other forms of energy.

In physics, an entropic force acting in a system is a force resulting from the entire system's thermodynamical tendency to increase its entropy, rather than from a particular underlying microscopic force.

Friability (pronounced /ˌfraɪəˈbɪlətiː/, "fry-uh-BIL-uh-tee"), the condition of being friable, describes the tendency of a solid substance to break into smaller pieces under duress or contact, especially by rubbing.

The Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung GmbH (MPIE) is a research institute of the Max Planck Society located in Düsseldorf.

Structural integrity and failure is an aspect of engineering which deals with the ability of a structure to support a designed load (weight, force, etc...) without breaking, tearing apart, or collapsing, and includes the study of breakage that has previously occurred in order to prevent failures in future designs.

Microstructure is the small scale structure of a material, defined as the structure of a prepared surface of material as revealed by a microscope above 25× magnification.

A crystal is a solid material whose constituent atoms, molecules, or ions are arranged in an orderly repeating pattern extending in all three spatial dimensions.

Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-tetramethacrylate or PEDOT-TMA is a p-type conducting polymer based on 3,4-ethylenedioxylthiophene or the EDOT monomer.

Reptation is the thermal motion of very long linear, entangled macromolecules in polymer melts or concentrated polymer solutions.