My research area is in understanding the mechanical behaviour of materials. In the course of the next few blogs, I will try to describe what we know and what remains to be studied in this research area.
Materials are the basis of civilisation. In fact, the kinds of materials humans use has even been used to classify the various historical eras of humankind. For example, societies which used primitive stone tools were called Palaeolithic (from Paleo - old + Lithic - stone). They were followed by stone using societies which were more sophisticated and were called Neolithic. These were followed by the bronze ages and Iron Age (from about 1300 BCE). Even now we still use Iron and steel the most. However, the current age is sometimes also called the Silicon age due to the wide use of this material in fabricating computer chips. Steel is still the most common structural material.
We use different facets of material behaviour for various purposes. We may burn materials to obtain heat and their chemical behaviour becomes important then. We may use materials for their ability to reflect light to make mirrors and their optical properties become important. Or we may use materials to keep the cold out and their thermal properties play a key role. Alternatively, we use materials to conduct electricity based on their electrical properties. But, perhaps most importantly, we use materials to support things (tables, chairs, buildings, aeroplanes) and their mechanical behaviour is the important aspect to understand for these purposes.
In each of the above facets of material behaviour, we are constantly trying to do better. Can we get more heat from burning less material? Can the optical properties be made to last longer? Can we keep the cold out with lighter material? And so on. Engineers are constantly looking out for something better all the time.
In the next blog, I will describe some more detailed aspects of the mechanical behaviour of materials and what we are looking for.
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