Furlong 1

Materials Science: Intelligently Designed

What Stuff is.
Look at your shoes. Look at the window. Now the wall. Look at your desk and the things
on it. Chances are, a materials scientist was involved in the making of almost everything you just
looked at. Did we have shoes, windows, and walls before there were modern materials
scientists? Yes, but what materials scientists do that wasnt done before is work together to
make things cheaper, more durable, less dangerous, more effective and more widely available to
the masses by using physics, chemistry and engineering as tools.
Everything is made of something, and if an object is considered modern, chances are
that somewhere along its path to creation, materials science was applied to help deliver to you
the best product possible. The
production of so much of what we
use in our daily lives, from the
windows in our cars, to the white
boards in our classrooms, to the
shoes on our feet, is completed
thanks largely in part to materials
science.
Materials can be classified
into a few basic categories. There
are solids, liquids, or gases. This paper will be focusing mostly on
inorganic solids in this discussion. While wood is important in human history and plastics are
rooted in organic origins, new applications of materials are being discovered mostly in the field of
inorganic materials, which will include plastics and rubber based polymers. The major


Furlong 2
classifications of inorganic solid materials are as follows:
metals, ceramics, polymers, and composites. Some minor
categories include gels and plasma, semiconductors, fabrics
and controlled organic solids (Introduction to Materials
Science and Technology 1.6).
Each category will be explained in depth using a
variety of approaches. This is possible because materials science is
considered to be one of the few fields where pure chemistry, physics
and engineering all intersect. It is necessary to understand all three fields in order to effectively
create useful and economical materials that can be safely manufactured, marketed and applied
in industry or used in our homes.
Taken together, science and technology in the MST (Materials Science & Technology)
classroom are combined to prepare students who not only create, design and build, but
understand the nature of materials
used in the building. They have the
know why (science) and the know
how (technology) that lead to
creativity, ingenuity and innovation
(Introduction to Materials Science and
Technology 1.6).
The field of materials science is
not free of controversy, as evidenced
by the debate over the development of
things like silicone breast implants and armor piercing bullets.


Furlong 3
There are also the changing attitudes of the population to consider. Early automobile
manufacturers threw fuel efficiency to the wind because the American public tended to abuse
their cars, and gas was cheap, so the cars were made of
incredibly thick, tank like metal plates. No one ever claimed
these cars were fuel efficient. Then came the oil shock of
1973, and cars had to
change radically, and
have kept changing to
meet the demand for more
fuel-efficient transportation (Introduction to Materials
Science and Technology 1.12).

Research and Sources
For my first interview, I spoke with Kathleen Stair, a Professor of Engineering Education
at Northwestern. Her job is to act as a coordinator for the office of materials Science and
Engineering. She does some undergraduate advising and could potentially be my freshman
advisor next year if I choose to pursue materials science. Professor Stair and I talked a lot about
other professors and their work. She referred me to colleagues like Professor Shah who is
working in 3D printing biomaterials, which is entirely new to the scientific community, and also to
people like Professor Olson who is researching how to make more effective steel alloys.
Although this is not a concept that is entirely new, it does illustrate that much of the work that is
done in the field of materials science involves improving the durability, effectiveness, and cost of
previously used materials (Stair 1).
Professor Stair mentioned how materials scientists were working with the Art Institute of


Furlong 4
Chicago to help in the preservation of centuries old
paintings. Materials scientists can also determine
what the paint and dyes were made of so that an
exact replica of deteriorating paintings can be made.
There are various research groups within each
engineering department, but something that is unique
to materials science is that each professor can be working in various
areas across the field due to the interconnected nature of materials
science (Stair 1).
An important ingredient in many of the most exciting and practical emerging materials is
graphene, more specifically, the carbon in graphene. The research on graphene has produced
everything from bendable pencils to revived hopes for a possible space elevator. The interesting
part was that the emphasis is on the creation of 2D sheets of graphene that could be
manipulated in ways that even very small blocks of the
materials cannot. The point is that materials science isnt just
about mixing metals until a stronger alloy is made or knowing
exactly how to make plastic that is safe to use in childrens
toys. It can be work that focuses on the atomic level. Often, no
new materials are discovered. So little is known about how
materials behave at the atomic level, and that is where much of
today's research is being done (Stair 1).
Professor Nix and Professor Facchetti were more directly involved in the field than
Professor Stair, so I was able to incorporate their interviews with my research. Talking to
professor Stair was a good introduction to materials science, and the other professors provided


Furlong 5
more detailed answers to more specific questions.
As far as my research methods go, my main tool was the internet. Materials science is a
rapidly evolving field, and the internet was able to provide the most up to date sources that I
could find. The professors I contacted were also a valuable source of information, but they are
very busy people and scheduling meetings with them was difficult. When I did manage to get
ahold of professors, they were always glad to help however they could. Because there is so
much variety in the way materials can be made, finding materials to show the class that met
specific qualifications was difficult, as was researching these materials. I had help from the
professors I interviewed, and I learned much more about the history of materials science and
methods of classifying materials than I thought I would. As I started researching, I found that it
was very important to understand where the materials that make headlines today came from.
The better we understand where current materials come from, the better we will be able to
control both the function and defects of materials we create in the future.
While I would have liked to learn more about emerging materials, understanding them is
difficult because they
are so new and there
is little literature
available on them. If
they are in the early
stages of development they
are usually under patent
protection, and to be honest,


Furlong 6
the true meat of materials science, such as how these materials behave on the molecular scale,
is beyond me at this point. There are people who spend their whole careers researching
materials, and I think I have developed a good knowledge base going into Materials Science and
Engineering at Northwestern.

The History of Stuff
Before we delve into the world of materials and their categorizations, lets take a quick
look at the history of materials science. Materials science by other names has always been
important and it will become even more important in the future. The names of the epochs
include the materials that characterize them - stone age,
bronze age, iron age etc. In these examples and ones to
follow the materials provide the basis for thed era is the
smelting of metal from raw ore using heat. Advances in
organic chemistry led to the development of polymers and
plastics, as well as an increased ability to manipulate and
control materials at the molecular level, leading to the rise of
nanotechnology
(Introduction to Materials Science and
Technology 1.6).
Materials science by other
names has always been important and it will
become even more important in the future.
The names of the epochs include the
materials that characterize them - stone age,


Furlong 7
bronze age, iron age etc. In these examples and ones to follow the materials provide the basis
for the tools that people used in those epochs. The early part of the 20th century might have
been called the aluminum age because aluminum alloys enabled the development of modern
airplanes. The middle part of the 20th century could have been called the nickel age, because
nickel based superalloys for turbine blades allowed the development of gas turbine engines that,
in turn, enabled the development of jet travel. said Professor Nix, And the very last part of the
20th century and the early part of this century might have been called the silicon age, because of
the Si chips that have enabled modern communications. All of us use silicon chips almost
continuously. Finally, the present time might turn out to be the carbon age because all of the
amazing things that come from the different forms of carbon (Nix 1).
Some would say that the first materials scientists were cave dwelling prehistoric humans
who learned how to chip and sharpen rocks into tools.
We like to think of ourselves as more sophisticated
nowadays, but the truth is that those ancient people
had the same basic motivation that we do. They chose
wood and stone because those materials were
abundant and got the job done better than anything
else they had available, and that is exactly what
materials scientists do today. We are emerging from the
second era of material history. Having learned enough about chemistry
and physics to manipulate natural resources to get materials that better
suit our needs, we are entering an age of molecular manipulation. An
example of materials science from the second era is the smelting of
metal from raw ore using heat. Advances in organic chemistry led to the


Furlong 8
development of polymers and plastics, as well as an increased ability to manipulate and control
materials at the molecular level, leading to the rise of nanotechnology (Introduction to Materials
Science and Technology 1.6).
The third and final stage of materials science is the era of designed materials. Any
nanotechnology is an example. Things like kevlar, ceramic space shuttle tiles, and especially
anything that would be considered composite materials are designed materials Introduction to
Materials Science and Technology 1.6).
I was initially intent on searching only new and upcoming materials, but as time
progressed I realized that in order to understand the true significance of the amazing materials I
was researching, I needed to both learn more about how
materials are organized, and learn about what sort of materials
we had been using in the past. The advances that are being
made gain true significance only when they are compared to
the materials that were cutting edge four hundred years ago
when we were still banging away at each other with sharpened metal
sticks or even forty years ago when computers could take up entire rooms. Todays nuclear
Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles, which can level a city at the push of a button from half the
world away, or transistors that have gone from the size of a microwave each to being able to fix
over sixty million of them in your pocket, are technologies that could never have been possible
had it not been for their more simple predecessors (Facchetti 1).

The Four Categories: Metals
Metals fall between ceramics and polymers in terms of mechanical properties, with
intermediate strength, toughness and temperature resistance - which makes them particularly


Furlong 9
useful for structural load bearing applications. Further nonstructural applications take advantage
of their unique electrical magnetic, thermal, optical and chemical properties (Northwestern
University 4).
When I think of metals, I tend to imagine the
basic elements: copper, silver, iron and so on, in their
elemental forms. While elements will always be
important in the classroom and in the history books,
todays metals have become more complex. First
year chemistry students arent ready to begin their studies of the elements by
doing complex reactions that involve metal alloys, so they study elements in their
elemental form for the most part.
The industrial revolution was brought forth almost
entirely by mankinds newfound ability to smelt
brittle iron into strong, flexible steel using the oh
so historically significant Bessemer process. We
could now build the railways and trains that began the transportation revolution, which was
continued during the Ford Era. Skyscrapers began to dominate city skylines, suspension bridges
and cross continental railroads began to connect our country, and we never had to deal with
rusty silverware again. Gone are the days (3300-1200 B.C.) when a sharpened stick of bronze
qualified as a cutting edge weapon. Metal weapons now consist of heat tempered steel
composite alloys that are able to contain and direct the forces of thousands of small explosions.
Gun barrels are just an example, and a violent one at that (Sporel 1).
On a lighter note, more amiable metals are all around us, and they are almost always
being used for something non-life threatening. Our phones and computers have metal casings,


Furlong 10
our desks have metal legs, our cars and planes and
trains and warships are metal, the pipes that supply
us with water and gas and heat and cold air are
metal, as are the wires that allow us to power all of
our cities, appliances, and devices. Metal can also
be used to plate up a missing chunk of bone or hold
together two separated body parts. Metals can can take us anywhere from
the depths of the ocean to the upper reaches of the atmosphere, and
although the excitement in materials science has
shifted to more modern materials like polymers and
composites, metals in all their various forms will
always play a central role in our everyday lives
(Sporel 1).
While metals have had less new
developments than other materials, they have certainly not been relegated to
history books. A many new alloys and concept metals are currently in development. Take the
shape shifting Martensite metals. These metals can shift seamlessly between two distinct
shapes because they are engineered alloys that remember their forms and can switch
between them, depending on their temperatures. Currently, these metals are made of an alloy of
nickel and titanium called nitinol. This alloy can wear out when put under the stresses of
industrial use and forget its shape. New, more durable metals are composed of zinc, gold, and
copper. Applications for these metals include frames on glasses, brasserie wires, bone
reshaping framework and stents for holding arteries open during surgery (Simone 1). Potential
industrial applications of this new alloy include automatic windows-openers in glasshouses, a


Furlong 11
means for automatically guiding solar panels to point at the Sun on the Hubble Space Telescope,
and, very recently, a proposed use in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner to morph the trailing edge of the
engine cowling, making it quieter when it runs hot on take-off"
(Simone 1).

The Four Categories: Ceramics
Ceramic materials have unique properties and applications
owing to their bond strengths, crystal structures, and band
structures.They find use as structural materials in
thermochemically challenging environments, but they also have
unique electrical, optical, and magnetic functionalities
(Northwestern University 3).
Ceramics are one of humanity's oldest endeavors, dating
back to 24,000 B.C. Over thousands of years, people perfected the art of getting clay wet and
baking it in improvised furnaces to make bricks. Soon we were making tiles and even found out
that overheating pots left a
clear, glossy film on the
ceramics. That was the
birth of glass, and in a few
thousand years glass was
being made independently of traditional ceramics (The American Ceramic Society, 1).
Advances in furnace design during the industrial revolution allowed for ceramics and
glass to be produced at much higher temperatures, and new forms of ceramics were made
available on an industrial scale. Ceramics have also been found to be useful as electrical


Furlong 12
insulators, which means that they have applications in today's micro-technology industry.
Because they resist changes in heat so well, highly specialized ceramic tiles were used on the
space shuttle as the protective covering that keep astronauts
from being cooked alive during reentry (History of Ceramics, 1).
Like metals, ceramics have not seen the excitement
that polymers and composites have seen in recent years, but
they continue to be an essential part of our lives, often without
our knowledge. Ceramic Fiber insulation is replacing asbestos
across the country, allowing you to stay warm without getting mesothelioma or
whatever those commercials keep telling elderly people they might have. Besides being one of
the essential materials of ancient civilizations, ceramics are being used as bone replacement
material (teeth mostly), in water filters, as engine parts, to make ultra sharp knives, and are the
base material of the tiles that protect the space shuttle, as previously mentioned.
We use ceramics to build and decorate our homes, which most people know. Brick
homes and extravagant vases are nothing new, but
applications of ceramics as computer components
and in superconductivity research are less well
known. Superconductors, to put it shortly, are
materials with exactly zero electrical resistance.
Sounds cool? Its even cooler than you thought.
When you drive your car, only about thirteen percent of the energy you put
in through gasoline actually translates to motion. The rest is lost to engine
heat, overcoming inertia, drag and friction. Now imagine if you could travel with no resistance at
all. This is what superconductors do, but for electricity. Power plants across the world have to


Furlong 13
amp up the voltage to make sure that the electricity that gets to us is at a high enough
pressure. Superconductors, like the ceramic versions being tested, would cut all of our
electricity bills to next to nothing.The problem right now is that superconductors have to be at
temperatures close to absolute zero to work properly. High temperature superconductors are
being researched using ceramic materials (History of Ceramics, 1).
Ceramics are most valued for their usefulness at the opposite
end of the materials science spectrum. Most ceramics are used to
stop energy, not transfer it. When you pour steaming coffee into a
mug, you dont get burned after holding it for a few seconds because
ceramic material absorbs and dissipates thermal energy very well. This makes
them incredibly useful as insulators for both our hands and our homes. Ceramics are being used
in electric devices as electrical insulators now as well, which means that ceramics too will need
to be studied more in depth at the atomic scale. They also keep our astronauts from dying,
which is pretty cool.

The Four Categories: Polymers
Polymers are molecular materials that exhibit a variety of forms and
functions and are the basis of many industries according to Northwestern
Engineering (Northwestern University 5). This may seem like a relatively
vague description, but it is rightfully broad. Polymers are making their way
into every aspect of our lives. Were using polymers to make a lot of our
clothes, parts of our cars, etc. Considering that plastics (the earliest polymers) have only been
around since the 1860s, the proliferation of polymers into our society is amazing. Because they
are so new to humanity, scientists have been discovering new uses for polymers left and right,


Furlong 14
and they show no signs of stopping
anytime soon. Just as nature has
used biological polymers as the
material of choice, mankind will chose
polymeric materials as the choice
material. Humans have progressed from the Stone Age, through the Bronze, Iron, and Steel
Ages into its current age, the Age of Polymers. An age in which synthetic polymers are and will
be the material of choice (Nix 1).
A popular online science news source, Future Trends said, Polymeric materials have a
vast potential for exciting new applications in the foreseeable future. Polymer uses are being
developed in such diverse areas as: conduction and storage of electricity, heat and light,
molecular based information storage and processing, molecular composites, unique separation
membranes, revolutionary new forms of food
processing and packaging, health, housing, and
transportation. Indeed, polymers will play an
increasingly important role in all aspects of your
life (Future Trends 1).
These are just a few of the areas that polymers
are now being applied to. One polymer you
might have seen on infomercials is polyacrylamide
copolymer or sodium polyacrylate. You might have heard it called by its street name, Orbeez.
Orbeez are a type of superabsorbent polymers that were developed for agricultural uses back in
the 1970s. The long polymer chains in the hard plastic form absorb and retain so much water
that they can grow to be almost two hundred times their original size. Heres how they work. In


Furlong 15
the polymer chain, the two most important groups are the
carbonyl (COOH) and sodium (Na). When in the presence of a
liquid, the Sodium detaches from the carbonyl group, thus
forming two ions: a carboxyl (COO-) and a sodium ion (Na+).
The negative charge on the carboxyl groups repel each other,
and as a result the polymer chain begins to unfold and
expand. As the chain expands, further groups of
unreacted COOH and Na on the polymer are exposed to the liquid, and continue to react
(Discovering the Chemistry of Infomercials, 1).
Orbeez take about thirty minutes to grow to full size, less in powdered form, but the
beauty of this material, as far as agriculture goes is, that it loses water very slowly. This makes
Orbeez perfect for irrigation during times of drought. They
can absorb water during rainstorms that are few and far
between, and release that water slowly over time. When the
next rain comes and the Orbeez have dried back to their
original size, they can readily absorb water again and again.
This reduced the need for expensive and obstructive
irrigation systems that involve pipes that can both fail and
need to be maintained. Farmers can harness the rain that they get because Orbeez spread out
the water over time.
Similarly, they can be found in the soil of many golf courses as they are useful in
providing that nice green grass we like, even in places like Arizona and the south of Spain.
Orbbex are also used in things like diapers and medicine bottles to control the release of
moisture.


Furlong 16

The Four Categories: Composites
Current strategies in the design of materials often rely on the
coupling of one or more material types (such as ceramics
and polymers) to obtain composite material behavior that
exceeds the sum of the properties of the constituents
(Northwestern University 3).
Composite materials can be made of anything
really, meaning that this is a sort of miscellaneous
category. Simple, everyday materials like plywood and
concrete are considered composites, but so too are
futuristic, high tech materials. Take the fiber optic cable,
which functions as a copper wire does, in that it is used to
transfer data using electricity. The way that this transfer
happens is very different in fiber optic cables. These cables are made of long
strands of very pure glass rods, coated in reflective layers of plastic. A laser is shined into one
end, the light bounces around inside and comes out at the other end. Because there is no metal
in the cable to slow it down, the electrons can travel at the true speed of light, so communication
is faster. These cables can also handle much larger
volumes of data per second when compared to
traditional metal wires. Different colors allow each
strand of cable to carry multiple signals, and they
are incredibly durable. ("How do fiber optic cables
work? - Curiosity 1).


Furlong 17
Another example of a composite material is the silicon microchip. When was the last
time you went a day without using something electronic? The silicon chip illustrates the rise of
materials science relative to other important disciplines that contributed to that development. The
early part of that development used relatively "common" materials in the construction. But for
the past decade or so the common materials would no longer allow the smaller and smaller
features sizes in the faster and faster chips being required. The central element in a transistor,
the gate, is now a very thin film of a very exotic oxide,
hafnium oxide. This came out of multiple materials
science efforts and led to the ever faster computer
chips that we now have. In this development,
materials scientists have played a bigger and bigger
role while people in EE (electrical engineering) have
moved more toward software (Nix 1).
When I asked professor Facchetti about a material that he thought
was becoming more and more important, he also talked about silicon
microchips and advances that we are making the the field of superconductivity and electrical
device design. He talked about how there are
flexible silicon microchips under development and
he discussed with me how they could be used to
improve the efficiency of things like solar panels in
industry, or how we could coat our backpacks
with them and they could make us into walking
phone chargers (Facchetti 1).



Furlong 18
So Why should we care about the science of Stuff? And what have we learned?
Materials science is based on physics, chemistry and the engineering sciences, and
now, more and more, biology. So you need to be interested in such physical sciences to excel
in materials science. But materials science is not science for the sake of science. It is in
essence an applied science (Nix 1).
I chose to research materials science because I am looking into
engineering as a college major, and materials science was one of
the more obscure majors in Northwesterns engineering school. I
didnt know much about it, but materials science seemed interesting
and I wanted to learn more. I had pictured my project being about all
of these cool, futuristic materials that would be revolutionary and
important in everyday life very soon. I found, however, that to really
understand how these materials are made, or even what they might be used for, I needed some
context.
I set out to research the history of materials science, as well as how things are
classified. Classification is difficult in and of itself. Biology has a whole sub-science (taxonomy)
dedicated to it. There are many ways to classify materials, but I chose the four categories listed
in my paper because they encompass most materials known to man. With each of these
categories I explained their basic definitions and known uses, and then added examples of how
they are being applied to the world in new forms or new functions.
I didnt meet my original
objective in terms of what I
wanted to research, but what I
did do was get a feel for what sort of work is being done in the field of materials science and


Furlong 19
engineering. That was what I wanted to do when I came up with the idea for this topic, and I am
very pleased with the results. I now know that I may have an interest in the field, which is a start. I
also feel like Professor Facchetti said that
he is interested in materials science
because it brings together chemistry,
physics and engineering more so than other
forms of science. Materials science is of
ever increasing importance as we move
into the future. Fields like nanotechnology
are growing, and the nuances of technology are being controlled down
to the molecular level. Materials science is the conduit through which the scientific community
will make many of its discoveries in the near future (Facchetti 1).
It was difficult to set up interviews with professors partially because they are very busy
people, and partially because I wanted to meet face to face with professors I might have
someday. It was also difficult to find some materials because they were either too new, which
meant that not much information was available about them online, or there were so many
varieties of the materials that zeroing in on just one specific type was proving difficult. I would find
an article on a material that I could cite, but when I
went to buy a sample for my presentation I could
only find modified forms of it.
I eventually settled on materials that were
very similar to the ones that I talked about, and all
is well. Information about materials science in general was easy to come by,
and professors were always more than willing to help me when they could. I


Furlong 20
learned about materials science, but more importantly, I learned why its important to our society
and why I should take a closer look at it when I go to pick a career.
Materials science is important for various reasons. It has existed in some form since
man began to use tools, and today it is an important part of most major technological
developments. I could write a paper twenty pages long on just one material from any of the four
categories because materials science is a broad subject that allows for creativity within the
realm of science, which is rare. It is this room for creativity which is helping materials scientists
and the many types of scientists that they work closely with to make technological breakthroughs
that have the potential to make our lives better.
From creating life saving medical devices to putting men on the moon, materials
scientists have their hands in just about everything. Properly designed materials are essential to
our modern lives, and the study of materials is even more important to ensuring progress in the
future.






Furlong 21
Works Cited
"Chapter 1. Introduction." Chapter 1. Introduction. University of Virginia, n.d. Web. 17
Feb. 2014. <http://www.virginia.edu/bohr/mse209/chapter1.htm>.
"Discovering the Chemistry of Infomercials." Orbeez. BCA Chemistry, n.d. Web. 13 Apr.
2014. <https://bcachemistry.wordpress.com/tag/orbeez/>.
Facchetti, Antonio. Adjunct Professor of Chemistry at Northwestern University. Phone
Interview. 15 April. 2014.
"Future Trends." Trends of Polymers . University of Illinois, n.d. Web. 9 Apr. 2014.
<http://matse1.matse.illinois.edu/polymers/future.html>.
"General Material Classifications." . N.p., n.d. Web. 17
Feb.2014.<http://www.ndt-ed.org/EducationResources/CommunityCollege/Materi
als/Introduction/classifications.htm>
"History of Ceramics" Ceramics.org. The American Ceramic Society, 20 May 2009.
Web. 1 Apr. 2014.<http://ceramics.org/learn-about-ceramics/history-of-ceramics>.
"How do fiber optic cables work? - Curiosity." Curiosity. Discovery Channel, n.d. Web. 9
Apr. 2014. <http://curiosity.discovery.com/question/fiber-optic-cables-work>.
"Introduction to Materials Science and Technology." Science Education. U.S.
Department of Energy Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, n.d. Web. 17 Feb.
2014. <http://science-ed.pnnl.gov/teachers/pdfs/mst_intro08.pdf>.
Nix, William. Lee Otterson Materials Science and engineering Professor in the Stanford
School of engineering, Emeritus. E-mail Interview. 11 April. 2014.
Northwestern University. Department of Materials Science and Engineering. Evanston:
Northwestern Engineering, 2013. Print.
Redfern, Simone . "New shape-shifting metals discovered." BBC News. British


Furlong 22
Broadcasting Company, n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2014.
<http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-24400101>.
Spoerl, Joseph. "A Brief History of Iron and Steel Manufacture." Carnegie Steel. Saint
Anselm College, n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2014.
<http://www.anselm.edu/homepage/dbanach/h-carnegie-steel.htm>.
Stair, Kathleen. Assistant Chair of Materials Science and Engineering at Northwestern. In
Person Interview. 18 February. 2014.