The Structure of Materials

Allen and Thomas offer a concise approach to teaching and learning the structure of materials. Their presentation is consistent with the way future scientists and engineers will need to think about materials in order to select, design, and use materials to their best advantage.

This text focuses on three different states of condensed matter—glasses, crystals, and liquid crystals—and is developed through the same set of tools, describing all three states.

This text is suitable for an undergraduate or graduate course in materials structure. The text can be used as a main text or as supplemental material.

Ein Lehrbuch zur Struktur der Materie, daß sich ausschließlich mit den Erscheinungsformen des festen Aggregatzustandes - Glas, Kristall, Flüssigkristall - befaßt und die Beziehungen zwischen Struktur und Eigenschaften anschaulich erläutert. Unentbehrlich für Materialwissenschaftler und Ingenieure, die ein tieferes Verständnis für diese Aspekte entwickeln müssen, um Werkstoffe optimal auswählen und anwenden zu können. (01/99) The Structure of Materials: Overview.

Noncrystalline State.

Crystalline State.

Liquid-Crystalline State.

Imperfections in Ordered Media.

Microstructure.

Index. SAMUEL M. ALLEN is Professor of Physical Metallurgy in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at M.I.T. He earned a Bachelor of Engineering degree from Stevens Institute of Technology and an S.M. and a Ph.D. from M.I.T. His research interests include phase transformations, solid/solid interfaces, structure/property relations in high-temperature alloys, three-dimensional printing of metal tools for plastic injection molding, and alloys for high-strain actuators. He is also co-authoring a graduate textbook, "Kinetic Processes in Materials," with Robert W. Balluffi and W. Craig Carter.

EDWIN L. THOMAS is the Morris Cohen Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at M.I.T. He received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts and a Ph.D. in Materials Science from Cornell University. His research interests include processing, microstructure and mechanical property relations of polymers, and optical properties of liquid crystals and polymeric-based photonic band gap materials. Professor Thomas' honors and awards include the High Polymer Physics Prize of the American Physical Society and the American Chemical Society Creative Polymer Chemist Award.

In The Structure of Materials, Allen and Thomas develop universal structural descriptors for the states of condensed matter that comprise materials: liquids, glasses, crystals, liquid crystals, and quasicrystals. They present and copiously illustrate many examples of detailed atomic arrangements and bonding for both organic and inorganic materials. Structure's connection to material properties and processing is treated along with important technological applications. Hierarchical structures spanning the nano- to macro-scale and their relevance in commercial materials are depicted. The authors describe in detail all forms of symmetry and their consequences for physical properties. Imperfections in both crystalline and liquid-crystalline materials and their strong influence on properties are also discussed. The hundreds of illustrations, worked example problems, and numerous exercises demonstrate the application of the principles of structure to a variety of material types. All readers-from students to researchers newly entering the field of materials science and engineering-will benefit from the broad coverage of topics, extensive references, and additional reading suggestions. Are You Looking for a Unified and Concise Approach to Teaching and Learning the Structure of Materials?

Allen and Thomas present information in a manner consistent with the way future scientists and engineers will be required to think about materials' selection, design, and use. Students will learn the fundamentals of three different states of condensed matter-glasses, crystals, and liquid crystals-and develop a set of tools for describing all of them. Above all, they'll gain a better understanding of the principles of structure common to all materials. Key concepts, such as symmetry theory, are introduced and applied to provide a common viewpoint for describing structures of ceramic, metallic, and polymeric materials. Structure-sensitive properties of real materials are introduced. The text also includes a variety of worked example problems.

Other texts available in the MIT Series: Thermodynamics of Materials, Vol I, Ragone, 30885-4 Thermodynamics of Materials, Vol II: Kinetics, Ragone, 30886-2 Physical Ceramics: Principles for Ceramics Science and Engineering, Chiang, Birnie, Kingery, 59873-9 Electronic Properties of Engineering Materials, Livingston, 31627-X