Transcript Impact of Technology on Materials Engineering

Impact of Technology on
Materials Engineering
IET 600
Individual Project 1
Joseph Barker
September 20, 2004
What is Materials
Engineering?
Materials engineers are involved in the extraction,
development, processing, and testing of the materials used to
create a diversity of products, from computer chips and
television screens to golf clubs and snow skis.
They work with metals, ceramics, plastics, semiconductors,
and combinations of materials called composites to create new
materials that meet certain mechanical, electrical, and chemical
requirements. They also are involved in selecting materials for
new applications.
History of Material Progress
300,00 BC
Flint tools – beginning of
ceramics.
5,500 BC
Gold & Copper used as
tools and weapons –
introduction of metals
History of Material Progress
5,000 BC
Introduction of fire and
hammering of copper to
change properties –
introduction of materials
processing.
3,500 BC
Reduction of copper from its
ore - dawn of metallurgy.
History of Material Progress
3,000 BC
Bronze in use - combination
of elements to make alloys.
1,450 BC
Discovery of Iron
1,500 AD
Blast Furnace invented for
making iron - entered era of
making iron.
History of Material Progress
1855 AD
Bessemer patent for steel
making - emergence of
modern day steel making.
1886 AD
The Hall Process, the
electrochemical extraction of
aluminum, made aluminum
available as a commercial
material.
History of Material Progress
1939
Commercial development of nylon,
key stage in evolution of plastics.
1940’s
Zone Refining, a purification
process critical to the emergence of
silicon technology.
1950’s
High temperature alloy
development, nickel based alloy
developments impact jet engine
development.
History of Material Progress
1960’s
Ability to grow smaller and
smaller silicon wafers.
1970’s
Mini-mills - emergence of
new industry based upon
materials processing of
recycled scrap iron.
1980’s
High temperature ceramic
superconductors
Timeline of Materials Technology
B.C. Era
 3rd millennium BC - Copper metallurgy is invented and copper is used
for ornamentation
 2nd millennium BC - Bronze is used for weapons and armor
 1st millennium BC - Pewter beginning to be used in China and Egypt
 16th century BC - The Hittites develop crude iron metallurgy
 13th century BC - Invention of steel when iron and charcoal are
combined properly
 10th century BC - Glass production begins in Greece and Syria
 50s BC - Glassblowing techniques flourish in Phoenicia
 20s BC - Roman architect Vitruvius describes low-water-content
method for mixing concrete
Source: Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia
Timeline of Materials Technology
15th – 18th centuries
 1450s - Crystallo, a clear soda-based glass is invented by
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Angelo Barovier
1590 - Glass lenses are developed in the Netherlands and
used for the first time in microscopes and telescopes
1738 - William Champion patents a process for the
production of metallic zinc by distillation from calamine
and charcoal
1740 - Benjamin Huntsman developed the crucible steel
technique
1779 - Bry Higgins issued a patent for hydraulic cement
(stucco) for use as an exterior plaster
1799 - Alessandro Volta makes a copper/zinc acid battery
Source: Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia
Timeline of Materials Technology
19th century
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1821 - Thomas Johann Seebeck invents the thermocouple
1824 - Patent issued to Joseph Aspin for Portland cement
1825 - Hans Christian Ørsted produces metallic aluminum
1839 - Charles Goodyear invents vulcanized rubber
1839 - Louis Daguerre and William Fox Talbot invent
silver-based photographic processes
 1855 - Bessemer process for mass production of steel
patented
 1861 - James Clerk Maxwell demonstrates color
photography
 1883 - Charles Fritts makes the first solar cells using
selenium wafers
Source: Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia
Timeline of Materials Technology
20th century
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1911 - Superconductivity discovered
1912 - Harry Brearley invents stainless steel
1916 - Jan Czochralski invents a method for growing single crystals of metals
1924 - Corning Incorporated scientists invent Pyrex, a glass with a very low
volumetric thermal expansion coefficient
1931 - Julius Nieuwland develops the synthetic rubber called neoprene
1931 - Wallace Carothers develops nylon
1938 - Roy Plunkett discovers the process for making poly-tetrafluoroethylene,
better known as Teflon
1947 - First germanium transistor invented
1951 - Individual atoms seen for the first time using the Field ion microscope
1962 - SQUID superconducting quantum interference device invented
1968 - Liquid crystal display developed by RCA
1970 - Silica optical fibers grown by Corning Incorporated
Source: Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia
The Future of Materials Engineering
Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology, simply put, is the creation of
materials, components, devices and systems at the
near-atomic, or nanometer, level. A nanometer is
a unit of length roughly equivalent to ten atoms
placed side by side. Designing and creating
materials at this scale often leads to products
which can achieve exceptional performance.
Imagine battery materials that store enormous
amounts of energy, electronic materials that
enable super-fast computer chips, and many,
many others. These are the potential benefits and
applications of nanotechnology
The Future of Materials Engineering
Spintronics
Spin-based electronics (spintronics), where
both the electron charge and the electron
spin are used to carry information, offers
opportunities for a new generation of
devices with enhanced performance. The
applications of the Spintronics, including
transistors, light emitting devices and
quantum computing, require materials
combining properties of both a ferromagnet
and semiconductor.
The Future of Materials Engineering
Carbon Nanotubes
Carbon nanotubes are unique
nanostructures with remarkable electronic
and mechanical properties. Interest from
the research community first focused on
their exotic electronic properties, since
nanotubes can be considered as prototypes
for a one-dimensional quantum wire. As
other useful properties have been
discovered, particularly strength, interest
has grown in potential applications.
Carbon nanotubes could be used, for
example, in nanometer-sized electronics or
to strengthen polymer materials
The Future of Materials Engineering
Drug Delivery Systems
Researchers at the Georgia
Institute of Technology have
developed a material that may
one day allow patients to forgo
daily injections and pills and
receive prescriptions instead
through micro-thin implantable
films that release medication
according to changes in
temperature.
Summary
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The field of Materials Engineering ranges from
prehistoric days of making primitive tooling, to
modern day nanotubes and quantum electronics.
 Materials are involved in every facet of the
manufacturing world, and your everyday life.
 It is difficult to predict were technology will lead
us in the future, but materials research will be the
guiding light to lead us to a better tomorrow.