Materials: A Very Short Introduction

Professor Hall defines materials as useful matter. He anchors his analysis in the historical development of the scientific theories and engineering approaches that defined, utilized and modified useful matter. He looks at useful matter in 6 chapters.First, Professor Hall looks at gold, sand and string; they are very different materials with some common crystalline atomic characteristics. He describes how these atomic and subatomic structures enhance and limit the usefulness of matter. In the second chapter, he looks at how science closely inspects matter at the atomic and particle level to understand why matter behaves as it does. The third chapter considers various qualities of matter such as hardness, stiffness and slipperiness to show how science defines and determines these and other qualities.In the fourth chapter the author looks at electrical and optical aspects of matter. He considers practical things such as paint and addresses the types of concerns in making paint. In the fifth chapter, he looks at making stuff and making things. A potter, for instance, may make both the clay for a pot and the pot itself. As Professor Hall notes, the clay itself will require a knowledge of chemistry. In fact, the potter needs to be a chemist.Lastly, the author considers the issue of sustainability. As he does throughout the book, he gives a thoughtful analysis of this. My interpretation is that he believes that sustainability may be achieved with some materials, but not all.The book is carefully written, contains a substantial body of information and will require close reading. One thing that occurred to me is that if you have a teenager with interests in science and math who is trying to determine where to focus their efforts, this might be a good way to introduce them to materials sciences, but this is just a thought. If you have an interest in materials sciences, I recommend the book and believe you will find it challenging and worth your time.

Sn excellent primer on Materials. It is very readable and really digs deeply into the various levels of material understanding.

Yes absolutely great text for those want metal worker and welding

This review is probably a little different from the usual critique. I bought this for me and my son. He graduated from UCLA with a Masters degree in Materials Science and Engineering in 1998. Since that time he sustained a severe traumatic brain injury in a car crash. He has a number of difficulties including inability to speak. He can read and understand. I thought that he rarely gets to use his knowledge of Materials Science. I bought the book so I could read portions aloud to him now and then. This allows him to revisit some of the knowledge he acquired in graduate school so he can be in touch with a part of his life otherwise unavailable to him. Thank you for the book.

I don't know why, but somehow many of the books from this series, including the 1 above, gives too much unnecessary insight into the history of the certain topic. If you like history then this book is for you, but i don't think it will help reading random names and dates which i will never hear again, when I just want to gain an insight into a scientific topic.There is also too less math included. If equations are described, they are literally described with words and not even the mathematical equation itself... They should probably focus more on science and the math behind it than the whole history.If you like history and hate maths, then you will like this book, and except from the points stated above, this book does a good job at comprehending the main topics of material sciences (If they write about them and not the people who have invented the theorys).

Good read. Fun series to collect.

In spite of being a ‘Very Short Introduction’, the author has done an excellent job in producing a comprehensive and informative book about materials of every description. This has been achieved in a non-academic manner making the book suitable for both the general reader and those with some prior knowledge of the sciences. The chapters cover materials science from a historical perspective, materials at the atomic level, their diverse properties, uses and manufacture and finally sustainability.Whilst the content does become technical in parts, these inclusions do not detract from the readability of the book and there are numerous references to assist those keen to pursue the subject further. As a primer for anybody considering serious study of materials science, this is the ideal book and one of the best examples of the VSI series I have read to date. Well worth a five star rating.

Dentro de la inabarcable colección Very Short Introductions de Oxford University Press hay libros de temáticas muy variadas: algunos se leen con mucha facilidad y otros son más difíciles. Materials es uno de los libros del primer tipo: una introducción sencilla y amena al mundo de los materiales, con un capítulo final dedicado a sostenibilidad y medio ambiente. Un libro muy adecuado como lectura complementaria para todos los estudiantes que cursen algún módulo relacionado con la ciencia de materiales en sus estudios universitarios.

just perfect!