What is Material: Definition and 1000 Discussions

A material is a substance or mixture of substances that constitutes an object. Materials can be pure or impure, living or non-living matter. Materials can be classified based on their physical and chemical properties, or on their geological origin or biological function. Materials science is the study of materials and their applications.
Raw materials can be processed in different ways to influence their properties, by purification, shaping or the introduction of other materials. New materials can be produced from raw materials by synthesis.
In industry, materials are inputs to manufacturing processes to produce products or more complex materials.

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  1. J

    Finding the Strongest Low-Density Material

    What would be the strongest possible material that has a density under 10,000 g/cm^3?
  2. W

    I Why induction requires a magnetic material to produce a current

    I can create a fairly strong magnetic field by leading current through a copper coil. However, I cannot then with that magnetic field create a current (not a useful one at least) in an object made out of copper. I understand that this is because copper lacks of magnetic properties. For instance...
  3. pinball1970

    Oldest material found on Earth?

    Oldest material found on earth? This popped up in live science https://www.livescience.com/oldest-material-on-earth.html This on PNAS https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2020/01/07/1904573117 Any discussions here? Nothing on Murchison.
  4. kolleamm

    Is there a paint-on paper material for irregular surfaces?

    I have some plastic parts, and I'm wondering if there is some sort of a liquid paper like solution that I can paint onto a surface that would later harden and have similar properties to that of paper. This would allow me to color my parts since the surface is irregular and would save me hours of...
  5. S

    How much energy does it take to make fissile material?

    All those certifuges must eat up a lot of power! How much energy does it take to create fissile material? What is the ratio of energy that it takes to make reactor grade material (3% enriched) to the amount it generates? What is the ratio for weapons grade material (90%)? Does it take more...
  6. Adesh

    Putting a slab of some material just after the slits in Young's model

    If I put a slab of some material whose refractive index is \mu and width is D, in front of slits in Young's Double Slit model, then In the figure you can see that I have placed the slab just after the slits. So, when rays going to come out of the slab they will bend away from...
  7. Another

    What happens when electric current is distributed in the material?

    When supplying electricity to the material. the shape of the material may or may not be square. This material may be This material may be moisture materials or solid materials that may conduct electricity. I would like to know the travel characteristics of electric currents and the potential...
  8. O

    B Radiation sensitive material

    is there a material out there that changes it's properties(for example it's color) when a radiation wave come into contact with it? I need to detect what types of a energies/waves/signals impact a certain object in space (or at least show that radiation hit it some times with great power)...
  9. O

    B Highly conductive, reflective and heat resistant material

    Which material or combination of materials is the most highly conductive(super-conductor) and highly reflective and heat resistant at the same time? I am asking this because I am trying to block radiation. T
  10. J

    I Thermal photons emission inside a material

    in the inside of the material is heat also can transferred by radiation?
  11. A

    What materials are used for the tokamak toroid wall?

    There are two questions that arose in my mind, first of all tokamaks use toroidal field coils which create a toroidal field within the torus to shape the plasma and confine it, but here is a question, the toroid coils have a static B field produced from a DC current in them, what kind of metal...
  12. J

    A Edge state question for a 2-D material and the quantum Hall effect

    I have read some materials about quantum hall effect and know that at the edge of a 2D material , one can linearize the potential V and the linear dispersion relation represents right/left moving fermion. So , Can I say that for a given hamiltonian , if I can linearizae it at edge, then this...
  13. J

    Engineering What is the formula for calculating the density of a composite material?

    Does anyone have an equation for the resultant density of the composite materials? Having a look around the internet and I can't find anything, there was this one website that gave me a step-by-step but the answers did not match (sciencing.com)
  14. F

    Engineering Find the hysteresis loss in the magnetic material

    That's what I've got , but I want to confirm my answer. Any help would be greatly appreciated !
  15. Nik_2213

    Technical term for this material structure?

    A massive rocky material that is connected open-cell, macro-porous at surface, but 'vesicles' shrink to closed-cell then solid as you drill deeper: What's the technical term for such ?? == Writing a SciFi tale, I'm trying to describe a large, alien-ish rock formation. I've a vague recollection...
  16. E

    What are interesting/cool topics about material deformation?

    Hey guys, so I have to give a 10 minute presentation for my class. I am absolutely terrible at memorizing stuff. Its pretty bad. If I can find an interesting or cool topic I would be able to remember material better. It needs to be about deformation or fracture of a material in terms of micro...
  17. Another

    Resistance of composite material

    Composite materials consist of various components such as moist wood ,how will the internal resistance of this material behave? If I want to study the resistance of composite materials, which topic should I study?
  18. S

    Is there an intermediate material for matter/antimatter?

    following on from the antimatter bomb thread on this forum, I was contemplating other means to cause damage using antimatter, and I was wondering if there was a way to create an explosive charge which contains antimatter suspended in a non-reactive material, and then have it explode outwards...
  19. M

    Material Analysis Methods (Material Characterization)

    In Material Analysis Methods (Material Characterization), how possible to know if the methods are use or popular? I guess that the list published in the following links https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_materials_analysis_methods contains the full spectrum of material characterization...
  20. kolleamm

    How do we know what a material is just by looking at it?

    I find it really interesting that I can look at an image of rubber and know immediately its rubber, and then look at an image of a metal and know its a metal. How do we reach such conclusions? My first guess is the smoothness of the material's surface, but maybe there's other features I'm...
  21. I

    Inserting a dielectric material between two plates of a capacitor

    1. new capacity: ##C = K\cdot C_{0}##. 2. initial potential energy: ##U_{i} = \frac 1 2 \cdot C_{0}V_{0}^2##. 3. final potential energy: ##U_{f} = \frac 1 2 \cdot KC_{0}V_{0}^2##. 4. total work done: ##W_{tot} =\Delta U = U_{f} - U_{i} = \frac 1 2 \cdot (K-1)C_{0}V_{0}^2 > 0##. 5. also total...
  22. Another

    What does material non-random strength (f_t) mean?

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Size_effect_on_structural_strength#cite_note-1 I don't understand about non-random strength (f_t) and size effect of material And please explain to me for the size effect? :cry::cry::cry::cry::cry:
  23. Another

    Electronics Material with response to moisture and electrical changes?

    I want to know what is the material that has a moisture and electrical properties response ? Do I have an idea to create an electrical device that is related to moisture using some materials that are responsive to moisture and electrical properties
  24. P

    Estimating the damage to a material based on force or kinetic energy

    I'm programming a game in which I'd like to simulate the real world physics of an attack using primarily medieval style weapons. Think dwarf fortress, but rather than assigning damage numbers we're calculating force or kinetic energy. Getting that much is easy enough since I can find the mass of...
  25. D

    How to obtain the Sellmeier equation based on a new material?

    I have synthesize a material used in optical trasmission. I want to know its transmission constant beta and its higher derivative. so the first step is to use sellmeier equation to describe its refractive indices. and i have already test a series of refractive indices value in different...
  26. kolleamm

    I want to make a 5K Pot, what is the best material?

    I need to make a custom potentiometer that will be like a ring that goes onto a shaft. The shaft is about 1 inch in diameter. I couldn't find anything like that online so I have no choice but to make one. My idea is to print a plastic ring that I can glue a circular resistive material into...
  27. mastermechanic

    Why weld joints are stronger than the base material itself?

    I wonder it for a long time and still couldn't find a reliable source. I've seen some posts on the internet saying that welds are mostly stronger than the base material but at first glance it contradicts with my intuition. I'm working on a bicycle frame for myself and the welds are important for...
  28. M

    Thermoelastic Material: Porous Material

    is porous material is a thermoelastic material?
  29. Eclair_de_XII

    Studying How can people self-study material in solitude all the time?

    For the past few weeks, I have been trying to review the math courses I've taken over past two years. All I can really do, though, is just read over the chapters. I acknowledge that the only way to actually (re)learn the material is to do the problems. I always tell myself that I can do it in my...
  30. archaic

    Perfect material for trigonometry

    The illustrations on this website are perfect. http://trigonography.com/toc/ I hope it'll help!
  31. kolleamm

    A liquid hardening wax material?

    I need a wax like material I can buy that I can paint onto a surface and then have it harden on it's own. I want to create fine details on a plastic model, so I would coat the model in wax with a brush, have the wax dry, and then sculpt out the details later. My ideas so far are wax for waxing...
  32. K

    B Will graphene become a wonder material for future inventions?

    I want to know more about upcoming revolutions
  33. DaniV

    Finding the magnetic field inside a material shell under external field

    I know that we need to use some boundry condition both on the a radius surface and the b radius surface and somehowuse the superposition on them both, the boundry condition most be for the tangential and the radial part, the only things I got is that i don`t know how to produce a magnetisation M...
  34. SamWedge

    LaTeX Material as thin as a drinking straw and as flexible as a latex tube?

    Hello, I am an artist working on weighted cloth in my practice since 2015. Each piece I make by hand and is extremely time consuming. I would love if someone would take a look at this and give me any thoughts you might have. I am working on a project that requires filling thin, fabric...
  35. W

    Relation between magnetism and material creep

    Hello, I am a civil engineer and have been working on concrete creep phenomenon for several years now. After reviewing a large amount of literature on related topics throughout this time, some interesting observations have emerged, and they have formed the idea that the material creep mechanism...
  36. A

    Core material for high power high frequency coil/solenoid

    I read the limits of typical ferrite cores and it seems that most sources claim that they tend to work somewhere up to 1 Mhz. Surely they work great under that frequency, but is there any material that could provide a core material for a wide frequency range starting from few tens of Khz up to...
  37. jedishrfu

    New Wonder Material Borekphene I mean Borophene

    New Wonder material: Borophene https://www.technologyreview.com/s/613267/borophene-the-new-2d-material-taking-chemistry-by-storm/ Sorry @Borek
  38. Behrouz

    Creating a Magnetic Snow Globe: Lightweight Options

    I'm trying to make a magnetic globe (magnetic from outside) with diameter of about 30 cm. Please imagine it as a snow globe, while it is magnetic as well :). I'm wondering about the options to make it, as light as possible. Please feel free to suggest tags here, if I'm missing anything or I...
  39. Crafticharli

    How can I dissolve plant material without changing-

    I have a question which is ungoogleable. Question: What is the most efficient way to fully dissolve plant matter without destroying its chemical make up, for distillation purposes? Background Information: I started down this rabbit hole while researching the viability of a artisanal soap...
  40. Jirby

    Clear chemical or material that will absorb or deflect IR?

    Hello All, I'm curious if there is some chemical or clear / semi-clear material that will absorb or deflect infra red light in the 890 - 910 nm range. IR absorption would be ideal, but deflection should work as well. The idea is to prevent reflection of IR back to it's source. I hope this...
  41. A

    Choose the Best Material for a Glass/Glass PV/T System

    Hello! I am a materials engineering BSc student currently writing my bachelor thesis. The topic of my thesis is regarding the PV/T system and the best material choice for the interface between the glass/glass PV module and the heat mat. I would appreciate any ideas for material with best thermal...
  42. iVenky

    Solving Charge Across Plates of a Capacitor w/ Negative Ions

    Homework Statement I have a material placed between parallel plates depleted of free electrons and contain negative ions. What would happen to the charge stored across the plates? Would it still be similar to placing a capacitor with a di-electric constant between them? Homework Equations Q=CV...
  43. laurieke

    Wavelength of light in a dielectric material

    Homework Statement In a physics lab, light with a wavelength λ0 travels in vacuum from a laser to a photocell in a time t1. When a slab of glass with a thickness d is placed in the light beam, with the beam incident along the normal to the parallel faces of the slab, it takes the light a time...
  44. L

    Modeling the Driven Damped Oscillations in a Material

    Homework Statement [/B] Let us assume that neutral atoms or molecules can be modeled as harmonic oscillators in some cases. Then, the equation of the displacement between nucleus and electron cloud can be written as $$\mu\left(\frac{d^x}{dt^2}+\gamma\frac{dx}{dt}+\omega_0^2x\right)=qE.$$ where...
  45. R

    Energy of a material with permanent polarization

    In electrostatics, for what I understand the when I have an electric field, the density of the energy stored in it is given by the following formula: $$W = \frac{1 }{2} E \cdot D$$But when there is some material permantent polarization the above formula fails to work. Is this correct? How can...
  46. H

    Plastic or Foil: Which is Better for Wrapping Fish?

    what is the best material to keep the fish fresh, longer, plastic or aluminium foil?
  47. SAG93

    Valve/Material for Siphoning Air & Blocking Water

    Hello, I wonder if anyone knows of a valve or material that would allow air to pass both ways but prevent water to pass one way. It will be on the end of a tube used for siphoning so that air can be blown in and suctioned out but if water is collected it is diverted away from the end of the...
  48. J

    Is strain uniform in a material?

    Hello, I am working on a project for an EE class and am brushing back up on the basics of strain and stress. My question was to do with how strain works in a material and if it is constant throughout. Say for example you had a setup like this The change in resistance the strain gauge...
  49. nomadreid

    Storage of material from CD's and DVD's: cloud?

    The question is from a friend of mine who is computer-incompetent; I am only computer literate on a daily-citizen level (can follow instructions from software but never learned to read or write code). Although I cannot sit down at his computer with him (he lives in the US, about 11000 km from...
  50. M

    Material Science & Advanced Thin Film Technologies: Postgraduate Research

    Is it advisable to have a Material Science background if I would like to pursue a postgraduate research studies in advanced thin film technologies?
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