Impact of Technology on Materials Engineering

1. Impact of Technology on Materials Engineering IET 600 Individual Project 1 Joseph Barker September 20, 2004

2. 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.

3. 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

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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

9. 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

10. Timeline of Materials Technology15th – 18th centuries • 1450s - Crystallo, a clear soda-based glass is invented by 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

11. Timeline of Materials Technology19th century • 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

12. Timeline of Materials Technology20th century • 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

13. The Future of Materials EngineeringNanotechnology 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

14. The Future of Materials EngineeringSpintronics 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.

15. The Future of Materials EngineeringCarbon 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

16. The Future of Materials EngineeringDrug 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.

17. Summary • 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.