We explain what the materials are and how these substances are classified. Also, what are its characteristics and some examples.
What are the materials?
It is known as materials to the different elements and substances, simple or compoundnecessary to manufacture an object. These materials can be of diverse nature, so their inherent properties and characteristics can differ greatly, both in their physics, chemistry, electrical conductivity or structure.
The study of the nature of materials is of great interest for engineering, metallurgy, physics and chemistry, as well as its surrounding fields, such as architecture and construction. Among the outstanding properties of the materials are: hardness, fragility, flexibility, impermeability, transparency and thermal and heat conduction.
According to these and other properties, the selection of materials to be used in the different industrial production and construction tasks is carried out, or in the experimental manufacture of new forms of materials.
Materials are called those elements susceptible to transformation and grouping in a more or less heterogeneous group.
Therefore, the term It basically applies to any set: school supplies (rulers, notebooks, pencils, etc.), laboratory supplies (pipettes, gloves, etc.) or construction supplies (cement, beams, etc.).
However, There is “Materials Science” and “Materials Engineering”disciplines whose objects of study are, basically, all substances that can be used industrially.
You may find it useful: States of matter
According to its origin
A first classification of the various existing materials is based on their origin:
- Natural materials. Coming from animal, vegetable or mineral nature
- Artificial or synthetic materials. Coming from laboratories and not existing spontaneously.
For example, wood, copper, wool and cotton are natural elements. On the other hand, plastic, paper, glass and porcelain are artificial or synthetic.
All artificial materials come from the controlled transformation of one or more natural materials: plastic comes from petroleum, paper from cellulose from wood, glass from sand, etc.
According to its hardness
Hardness is a property that has to do with the resistance of the material to deformation or breakage when subjected to continuous force.
In that sense, we can talk about softer materials (they give in to the forces that deform them) and harder (they resist them).
For example, Steel, diamond and cement They are hard materials; Plastic, wood and rubber are soft materials.
According to its flexibility
Flexibility is the ability of materials to alter their shape without breaking, once subjected to a continuous and stable force. According to their flexibility we can talk about three types of materials: flexible, rigid and elastic.
- Flexible materialsThey are easily deformed by applying force. For example: plasticine or flexible clay used in crafts.
- Rigid or brittle materials. They have a minimal bending capacity, they break rather than deform. For example: ceramics.
- Elastic materialsThey are capable of recovering their initial shape (shape memory) after having been deformed due to the application of a force. For example: rubber.
According to your tenacity
Materials have different degrees of fragility, that is, the capacity of their particles to resist more or less force that tries to separate them.
There are tough materials, difficult to break, and fragile materials, easy to break. Diamond, steel, concrete are tenacious; while porcelain, glass and certain woods are fragile.
According to its malleability
Malleability is the ability of certain hard materials to be deformed and molded without breakingapplying compression through force.
This allows the separation of its particles into sheets more or less thin. This property applies above all to metals, such as gold, aluminium, platinum, copper or iron.
See also: Metals and non-metals.
According to its ductility
Ductility is similar to malleability, since ductile materials They deform under the application of force without breakingbut instead of producing sheets, threads or wires are obtained from them.
Non-ductile materials, on the other hand, are considered brittle, since they break. Examples of ductile materials are: platinum, copper, zinc, lead and plastic.
According to its transparency
Transparent materials are those that allow the passage of light through their bodiesmaking it possible to see through them what is behind.
This property allows us to discern between materials:
- TransparentThey let light through. For example: polished glass or cellophane.
- Opaque. They don’t let light through. For example: wood, cardboard or plastic.
- Translucent. They allow light to pass through but distort or attenuate it. For example: fabric, some thick glass and prisms.
According to its conductivity
Conductivity is the ability of allow the transit of energy through their bodieseither heat energy (thermal conductivity) or electrical energy (electrical conductivity), or both. Materials that are not conductors, on the other hand, are called insulators.
- Thermal conductivityThis physical property of materials consists of the ability to transfer kinetic energy between the particles of one substance and those of another that is adjacent. For example, metal is a good thermal conductor: it is enough to heat one end of a metal rod to feel it on the other; while plastic is a poor thermal conductor and serves as an insulator.
- Electric conductivity. Electrical conduction depends on the atomic and molecular structure of the materials, especially the mobility of their electrons. It is the ability of a material to allow electric current to pass through it. There are good electrical conductors, such as metals or graphene; semiconductors such as silicon or carbon; and insulators such as glass, mica or quartz.
New Materials
It is known as “new materials” the forms of matter produced by humanity in laboratoriesapplying contemporary technology and scientific knowledge in the production of substances that do not exist in nature and are endowed with surprising physical and chemical properties.
Examples of this are aerographene, the lightest substance in existence; upsalite, the most powerful desiccant ever invented; or graphene, a lightweight, thin and resistant conductor made from carbon. These are some of the most revolutionary materials ever invented by man.
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References:
- Industrial Technology II. Structure and properties of materials. Pedro Rodas Martín. IES the Doctoral. 2009-2010.
- “Material” on Wikipedia.