Polymer and Material Sciences
Material science investigates the relationship between the structure of materials at atomic or molecular scales and their macroscopic properties. Metals, polymers and ceramics are major parts of materials science.
Not all materials have a regular crystal structure. Polymers display varying degrees of crystallinity and some ceramics and many natural materials are amorphous, not possessing any order in their atomic arrangements. The study of materials combines elements of chemical, mechanical and physical properties.
Click here to contact usA number of Sub-fields of materials science have developed. Examples are:
- Nanotechnology - materials whose structural sizes are from less than a nanometer to one hundred nanometres.
- Crystallography – the study of how atoms in solids fill space and the defects associated with crystal structures such as grain boundaries.
- Materials Characterisation – using techniques such as X-ray diffraction and various forms of spectroscopy and chromatography.
- Biomaterials – materials that are derived from or used with biological systems.
- Surface science – interactions at the interfaces between solid-gas, solid-liquid and solid-solid.
- Rheology - the study of the physical properties of any material that flows. Typically deals with non-Newtonian fluid dynamics. Widely used to analyse polymer synthesis and characterisation.
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