History of materials science 1688179 226115952 2008-07-16T21:56:35Z PateraIncus 3660981 /* Materials scientists */ {{History of science}} The '''History of materials science''' is the study of how different materials were used as influenced by the [[history of Earth]] and the [[culture]] of the [[nation|peoples]] of the [[Earth]]. ==Prehistory== [[Image:Feuersteinaxt.jpg|thumb|left|250px|flint axe, about 31 cm long.]] The materials used by different cultures in most cases were the only records left for [[anthropologists]] to define the civilization. The progressive use of more sophisticated materials showed an innovative divide between peoples. This is partially due to the major material of use in that culture and its associated benefits and drawbacks. [[Stone Age]] cultures were limited by which stone could be found in the local area and what could be traded. The use of [[flint]] around 300,000 BCE is sometimes considered the beginning of the use of [[Ceramic|ceramics]]. The use of polished [[stone axe]]s marks a significant advance because many more rocks could be used as tools. [[Image:Sword bronze age (2nd version).jpg|thumb|left|150px|A late [[Bronze Age sword]] or dagger blade.]] The innovation of smelting and casting metals in the [[Bronze Age]] started to change the way that cultures developed and interacted with each other. Native metals of [[copper]] and [[gold]] were reshaped without the use of fire for tools and weapons starting around 5500 BCE. Copper began to be heated and shaped with hammers around 5000 BCE. Melting and casting around 4000 BCE. [[Metallurgy]] had its dawn with the reduction of copper from its ore around 3500 BCE. And finally, the first [[alloy]], [[bronze]] came into use around 3000 BCE. In the 10th century BC, [[Glass]] production begins in [[ancient Near East]]. In the 3rd century BC, [[Wootz steel]], the first [[crucible steel]], is invented in [[History of India|ancient India]]. In the 1st century BC, [[Glassblowing]] techniques flourish in [[Phoenicia]]. In the 2nd century AD, [[steel]]-making becomes widespread used in [[Han Dynasty]] China. In the 4th century, the [[Iron pillar of Delhi]] is produced, and remains the oldest surviving example of corrosion-resistant steel. ==Antiquity== [[Image:Ac.pantheon1.jpg|left|thumb|200px|The [[Pantheon, Rome|Pantheon]] in [[Rome]].]] [[Wood]], [[bone]], [[Rock (geology)|stone]], and [[earth]] are some of the materials which formed the structures of the [[Roman empire]]. Certain structures were made possible by the character of the land upon which these structures are built; a volcanic peninsula with stone [[Construction aggregate|aggregate]]s and [[conglomerate (geology)|conglomerates]] containing [[crystal]]line material, will produce material which weathers differently from soft, sedimentary rock and silt. That is one of the reasons that the [[concrete]] [[Pantheon, Rome|Pantheon]] of [[Rome]] could last for 1850 years. And why the [[thatch]]ed [[farmhouse]]s of [[Holland]] sketched by [[Rembrandt]] have long since decayed. After the [[thigh]][[bone]] [[dagger]]s of the early [[hunter-gatherer]]s were superseded by wood and stone axes, and then by [[copper]], [[bronze]] and [[iron]] implements of the Roman civilization, more precious materials could then be sought, and gathered together. Thus the [[medieval]] goldsmith [[Benvenuto Cellini]] could seek and defend the gold which he had to turn into objects of desire for [[duke]]s and [[pope]]s. His ''autobiography'' contains one of the first descriptions of a metallurgical process. ==Middle Ages== In the 8th century, [[porcelain]] is invented in [[Tang Dynasty]] China, the streets of [[Baghdad]] are the first to be paved with [[tar]] (derived from [[petroleum]] through [[destructive distillation]]),<ref name=Ajram>Dr. Kasem Ajram (1992). ''Miracle of Islamic Science'', Appendix B. Knowledge House Publishers. ISBN 0911119434.</ref> and the [[tin-glazing]] of ceramics is invented by [[Alchemy and chemistry in Islam|Arabic chemists]] and [[Islamic pottery|potters]] in [[Basra]], [[Iraq]].<ref>{{cite journal | last=Mason | first=Robert B. | title=New Looks at Old Pots: Results of Recent Multidisciplinary Studies of Glazed Ceramics from the Islamic World | journal=Muqarnas: Annual on Islamic Art and Architecture | date=1995 | volume=XII | publisher=Brill Academic Publishers | id=ISBN 9004103147 | pages=1}}</ref> [[Geber]] (Jabir ibn Hayyan) invents artificial [[pearl]]s, describes the [[purification]] of [[Grease|greasy]] or discoloured pearls and the first recipes for the [[dying]] and artificial colouring of [[gemstone]]s and pearls,<ref name=Pearl>{{cite web |url=http://www.history-science-technology.com/Articles/articles%2092.htm |title= The Colouring of Gemstones, The Purifying and Making of Pearls And Other Useful Recipes |accessdate=2008-03-29|last=Hassan |first=Ahmad Y |authorlink=Ahmad Y Hassan |work=History of Science and Technology in Islam}}</ref> invents [[lustreware]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.history-science-technology.com/Articles/articles%2091.htm |title=Lustre Glass |accessdate=2008-03-29|last=Hassan |first=Ahmad Y |authorlink=Ahmad Y Hassan |work=History of Science and Technology in Islam}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.history-science-technology.com/Notes/Notes%209.htm |title=Lazaward And Zaffer Cobalt Oxide In Islamic And Western Lustre Glass And Ceramics |accessdate=2008-03-29|last=Hassan |first=Ahmad Y |authorlink=Ahmad Y Hassan |work=History of Science and Technology in Islam}}</ref> and describes the first recipes for the [[manufacture]] of [[glue]] from [[cheese]].<ref name=Pearl/> In the 9th century, [[Stoneware|stonepaste ceramics]] invented in [[Iraq]].<ref>{{cite journal | last=Mason | first=Robert B. | title=New Looks at Old Pots: Results of Recent Multidisciplinary Studies of Glazed Ceramics from the Islamic World | journal=Muqarnas: Annual on Islamic Art and Architecture | date=1995 | volume=XII | publisher=Brill Academic Publishers | id=ISBN 9004103147 | pages=5}}</ref> In the 10th century, [[Muhammad ibn Zakarīya Rāzi]] (Rhazes) states he and his Arabic predecessors ([[Calid]], Geber and [[Al-Kindi|Alkindus]]) invented the following [[Derivative (chemistry)|derivative]] and artificial materials: [[lead(II) oxide]] (PbO), [[red lead]] (Pb3O4), [[tin(II) oxide]] (''Isfidaj''), [[copper acetate]] (''Zaniar''), [[copper(II) oxide]] (CuO), [[lead sulfide]], [[zinc oxide]], [[bismuth oxide]], [[antimony]] oxide, iron [[rust]], [[iron acetate]], ''Daws'' (a contituent of [[steel]]), [[cinnabar]] (HgS), [[arsenic trioxide]] (As2O3), [[alkali]] (''al-Qili''), [[sodium hydroxide]] (caustic soda), and ''Qalimiya'' (anything that separates from metals during their [[List of purification methods in chemistry|purification]])<ref name=Hassan-Alchemy>{{cite web |url= http://www.history-science-technology.com/Articles/articles%2010.htm |title= Arabic Alchemy: Science of the Art |accessdate=2008-03-29 |last=Hassan |first=Ahmad Y |authorlink=Ahmad Y Hassan |work=History of Science and Technology in Islam}}</ref> In the 11th century, [[Damascus steel]] is developed in the [[Middle East]]. In the 15th century, [[Johann Gutenberg]] develops [[type metal]] alloy and Angelo Barovier invents [[cristallo]], a clear soda-based glass. ==Early modern period== In the 16th century, [[Vannoccio Biringuccio]] publishes first systematic book on [[metallurgy]], [[Georg Agricola]] writes an influential book on [[metallurgy]], and glass [[lens (optics)|lens]] are developed in the [[Netherlands]] and used for the first time in [[microscope]]s and [[telescope]]s. In the 17th century, [[Galileo]]'s ''[[Two New Sciences]]'' ([[strength of materials]] and [[kinematics]]) includes the first quantitative statements in the science of materials. In the 18th century, [[William Champion]] patents a process for the production of metallic [[zinc]] by [[distillation]] from [[calamine]] and charcoal, Bry Higgins issued a [[patent]] for hydraulic cement ([[stucco]]) for use as an exterior [[plaster]], and [[Alessandro Volta]] makes a copper/zinc [[acid]] [[battery (electricity)|battery]]. In the 19th century, [[Thomas Johann Seebeck]] invents the [[thermocouple]], Joseph Aspin invents [[Portland cement]], [[Hans Christian Ørsted]] produces metallic [[aluminium]], [[Charles Goodyear]] invents [[Vulcanization|vulcanized rubber]], [[Louis Daguerre]] and [[William Fox Talbot]] invent [[silver]]-based [[photography|photographic]] processes, [[James Clerk Maxwell]] demonstrates color photography, and [[Charles Fritts]] makes the first [[solar cell]]s using [[selenium]] waffles. ==Modern materials science== In the early part of the 20th century, most engineering schools had a department of [[metallurgy]] and perhaps of [[ceramic]]s as well. Much effort was expended on consideration of the [[austenite]]-[[martensite]]-[[cementite]] phases found in the iron-carbon [[phase diagram]] that underlies [[steel]] production. The fundamental understanding of other materials was not sufficiently advanced for them to be considered as academic subjects. In the post-WWII era, the systematic study of [[polymer]]s advanced particularly rapidly. Rather than create new polymer science departments in engineering schools, administrators and scientists began to conceive of materials science as a new interdisciplinary field in its own right, one that considered all substances of engineering importance from a unified point of view. [[Northwestern University]] instituted the first materials science department in 1955. The [http://www.mrs.org Materials Research Society] (MRS) has been instrumental in creating an identity and cohesion for this young field. MRS was the brainchild of researchers at [[Penn State University]] and grew out of discussions initiated by Prof. [[Rustum Roy]] in 1970. The first meeting of MRS was held in 1973. As of 2006, MRS has grown into an international society that sponsors a large number of annual meetings and has over 13,000 members. MRS sponsors meetings that are subdivided into symposia on a large variety of topics as opposed to the more focused meetings typically sponsored by organizations like the [[American Physical Society]] or the [[IEEE]]. The fundamentally interdisciplinary nature of MRS meetings has had a strong influence on the direction of science, particularly in the popularity of the study of [[soft materials]], which are in the nexus of biology, chemistry, physics and mechanical and electrical engineering. ==See also== *[[Timeline of materials technology]] *[[History of Ferrous Metallurgy]] *[http://hist-met.org/ Historical Metallurgy Society] *[http://www.plastiquarian.com/ Plastics History Society] *[http://www.historyofglass.org.uk/AHG.htm Association for the History of Glass] *[[History of silk|History of Silk]] ==References== *[[Benvenuto Cellini]] ([[1500]]-[[1571]]) ''Autobiography''. *[[Galileo]], [[1638]] [[Two New Sciences]]. Leiden: Louis Elsevier. *[http://www.mrs.org/s_mrs/bin.asp?CID=2798&DID=155088&DOC=FILE.PDF 20th anniversary issue of MRS Bulletin] from 1973. * Northwestern University [http://www.northwestern.edu/observer/issues/2005/10/20/materials.html press release] about 50th anniversary of its Materials Science Department in 2005. * ''Solid State Science: Past, Present and Predicted,'' edited by D.L. Weaire and C.G. Windsor, ISBN 0-85274-584-2. *http://www.crc4mse.org/what/MSE_history.html == Materials scientists == *[[Robert W. Cahn]] *[[Pol Duwez]] *[[Sir Charles Frank]] *[[Arthur R. von Hippel]] *[[Sir Peter Hirsch]] *[[William Hume-Rothery]] *[[Egon Orowan]] *[[Henry Clifton Sorby]] *[[Geoffrey Ingram Taylor]] *[[David Turnbull (materials scientist)|David Turner]] *[[Vito Volterra]] *[[Clarence Zener]] {{DEFAULTSORT:Materials science}} [[Category:History of technology]] [[Category:History of physics]] [[Category:History of chemistry]]