So, this is a new. A new thing. Very different thing than anything I’ve written before.
I started this blog to mostly share some of my hobbies and interests. I wanted to talk about my love of fashion, makeup, skincare, and fragrance. I wanted to share art and poetry. However, I did not think I would want to talk about this: Material Science.
To those who are unaware, I am currently in my senior year of my undergraduate career studying Material Science. Anytime I tell anyone this, their initial question is “What is that?” Which is understandable, of course. To be honest, I don’t think I knew what it is was exactly when I decided to switch into the program my freshman year.
However, in my four years of this degree, I have fallen in love with Material Science. I have been captivated by what I have learned in my studies. I have loved the research I have contributed to within this discipline. And that is why I am writing this blog post.
To be honest, I don’t how well this will be received. I’m not sure if anyone will care to hear me geek out about science. But I also don’t really care. I started this blog to write about things I’m passionate about, and I’m passionate about this. So maybe, just maybe, you can stick around to listen to my ravings of science and become just as enamored as me.
What is Material Science?
According to Science Daily, “materials science is an interdisciplinary field involving the properties of matter and its applications to various areas of science and engineering”. But what’s the “matter”? (Nothing, what’s the matter with you?”
Well, matter is everything! It’s what makes up EVERYTHING around us. It’s what makes up our favorite wine glasses, our faux leather handbags, are iPads.
So what? Am I really telling you that I study everything? Well yes, sorta.
Material science specifically looks at why matter is the way it is? Why does our wine glasses shatter when we drop them, but our Corelle plates don’t . Why does our laptop get so hot and why does it need a built-in fan? Why are our new scrunchies sooo much stretchier than our old ones?
These questions are all answered through material science. Like previously mentioned, material science is interdisciplinary. This means it uses the knowledge from multiple disciplines to answer these questions. Specifically, material science uses concepts in chemistry and physics to understand these things.
Why Material Science?
So, let’s be real. I don’t know if anyone actually cares about why their scrunchies are all stretched out and useless. There are, frankly, much more important problems to solve.
However material science also answers these questions? Why did the bridge collapse? Why did the plane crash? Why did the Titanic sink? How did the 9/11 attack cause the towers to collapse entirely?
But an even more important question (especially for these cases) is “How do I prevent a tragedy?” And that is where application of material science lies.
But like, what exactly is Material Science?
So I’m gonna share this picture with you. It has been showed to me every semester of my undergraduate degree during syllabus. To be honest, I don’t think it does much for me, but it only feels natural to show it.
Yes, there it is. The fundamentals of materials science. The pillars some might say. The tetrahedron.
So what the heck are we looking at? This graphic specifically illustrates how different aspects of a material are connected.
Centered is characterization, which refers to describing something. In material science there are plenty of techniques we use to describe something. Some require fancy million dollar microscopes, some require scary machines that whack pieces of metal with giant swinging hammers or pulls pieces of metal as if they were a piece of taffy. Some require nothing but a glass beaker filler with water and scale. But how we characterize a material is so important because it will dictate so many aspects of the applications and engineering that occurs with/to the material.
By taking a look at our tetrahedron, we can see the words performance, structure, processing, and properties.
To break this down simply, we use characterization to determine things like the properties of a material. For example, how much force is required to break this? How elastic is it? How reflective is it? What temperature does it melt?
Through characterization, we also determine the material structure. This is harder to explain, but I’ll just say that all materials are put together by smaller building blocks which need to be put together in a specific way to make a specific material that material. Sort of like how depending on how threads are weaved dictates whether a fabric is a stretchy knit or a stiff linen.
Lastly, once you know these things you can determine how a material will perform under specific conditions, and if this performance is not adequate, how can we process or change this material to make it better? Because yes, we can do that.
So that’s it I guess. It’s all about materials. Why they are the way they are. Why do they act this way. How we can change them. What would be good uses for them. Simple, right?
However the coolest thing about material science is where it can be applied. Because let me reiterate. Matter is everywhere, so material scientists are needed everywhere. For example, polymers are a type of material and is plastics are one of the most known types of polymer. However, DNA is also a polymer, so knowing this material scientists can work in biology and medicine (Biomaterials). Hyaluronic acid, the stuff in our favorite moisturizers, in a polymer. This means material science is applicable in the beauty industry. Material scientists can also work for automobile and aerospace companies (metals). They can build phones and laptops (semiconductors). Literally anywhere.
And honestly, I think that’s the coolest thing about studying material science. Because through this degree, you know you can probably do anything you ever want. You’re not tied to anything. There is lack of monotony that gives me the security that I may never be bored. That I always have something new to learn. That there’s always a new area I can apply my knowledge. And as someone with commitment issues, that’s pretty fucking dope.
YADDA YADDA YANA 