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What is MSE?
MSE is a field of Engineering - MSE stands for Materials Science
and Engineering. The field encompasses the spectrum of materials:
metals, ceramics, polymers (plastics), semiconductors, and combinations
of materials called composites. Most fields of work or study have
a bit of MSE in them! But let's start at the beginning...
What are Materials?
First, what are materials? That's easy. Look around. What do you
see? Materials are everywhere! The clothes we wear are made from
a variety of materials. Our home is made of materials - mostly
manufactured. The glass in the windows, the vinyl siding, the
ceramic dinnerware, the metal silverware, and everywhere we look
we see products made from materials. Most products are made from
many different kinds of materials to satisfy the needs of the
product. One way to look at materials is to consider the various
generic descriptions such as:
- Metals: Materials that are normally combinations of "metallic elements".
These elements, when combined, usually have electrons that are
non localized and as a consequence have generic types of properties.
Metals usually are good conductors of heat and electricity. Also,
they are quite strong but malleable and tend to have a lustrous
look when polished.
- Ceramics: Ceramics are generally compounds between metallic and nonmetallic
elements and include such compounds as oxides, nitrides, and carbides.
Typically they are insulating and resistant to high temperatures
and harsh environments.
- Plastics: Plastics (or polymers) are generally organic compounds based
upon carbon and hydrogen. They are very large molecular structures.
Usually they are low density and are not stable at high temperatures.
- Semiconductors: Semiconductors have electrical properties intermediate between
metallic conductors and ceramic insulators. Also, the electrical
properties are strongly dependent upon small amounts of impurities.
- Composites: Composites consist of more than one material type. Fiberglass,
a combination of glass and a polymer, is an example. Concrete
and plywood are other familiar composites. Many new combinations
include ceramic fibers in metal or polymer matrix.
This type of description is too general to provide much insight
into where and how materials are used and certainly not much about
what a materials person does. For example, the dramatic role of
iron throughout the ages is not really the result of it being
"strong" as one might believe from it being a "metal". In reality,
iron has been important because we can change its properties by
heating and cooling it. The ability to change the properties and/or
behavior of a material is what makes most materials useful and
this is at the heart of what a materials person does! Lets look
at materials from the vantage of a materials person and further
lets couple that with how this view couples with the other engineering
and science disciplines.
Site related questions or comments? Contact crc@tms.org
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