Evolution of Materials Technology
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ScribdTranslationsNATIONAL POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE
INTERDISCIPLINARY PROFESSIONAL UNIT OF ENGINEERING GUANAJUATO
CAMPUS
MORALES VALENZUELA CHRISTIAN
MATERIALS TECHNOLOGY 2IV6
History of materials technology
With the existence of humanity, the need arose to create tools and utensils that
would allow the first settlers of the planet to survive. Throughout the history of
materials, there have been defined eras in which our ancestors sought resources to
satisfy their most basic needs:
Stone Age
Thanks to the bones of our ancestors, they discovered that, by constantly
hitting one stone against another, one of them would fracture into two parts
with sharp edges. With this observation, the idea of making sharp tools and
weapons was born, which made it easier for them to cut food, hunt animals
and defend themselves from what they identified as a threat. The discovery
of fire was timely as it allowed them to extend their working day in caves
from which they extracted mineral materials (birth of mining) used in the
manufacture of containers (where they stored food) as ornaments (birth of
pottery).
Copper Age
The fire and kilns used in the development of pottery gave way to the
discovery that there was a way to produce metallic copper (difficult to find
in nature at that time) that could be deformed if struck with a stone to make
many utensils that, compared to stone, were less fragile and could be built
in a wide variety of sizes.
Iron Age
Although iron was already known to mankind as a mineral, it had never
been worked for the creation of weapons and tools since the furnaces in
which copper was melted (which needed a current of air to increase their
temperature) were limited to melting copper at 1083 °C while to melt iron
temperatures above 1500 °C were necessary. It was in Europe where large
furnaces were built (at that time) with air injections that allowed the melting
of an iron-carbon alloy known as pig iron (it melts at 1130°C), as well as
copper, they observed that the smelted product could be deformed through
blows to take the desired shape and also to eliminate the slag produced in
the smelting process. The creation of iron tools was fundamental for the
creation of weapons and hammers that facilitated the molding of utensils
used mainly in agriculture.
Contemporary age
NATIONAL POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE
INTERDISCIPLINARY PROFESSIONAL UNIT OF ENGINEERING GUANAJUATO
CAMPUS
MORALES VALENZUELA CHRISTIAN
MATERIALS TECHNOLOGY 2IV6
This era is marked by the variety of materials that are currently used in
various application sectors:
o In 1886, mass production of aluminium began using a method based
on electrolysis, and was then used in the production of aircraft.
o In 1964, a chemical method was discovered that allowed the
production of titanium, which was more resistant than aluminum and
replaced it as the main raw material in the aerospace sector.
o With the discovery of vulcanization in 1839 by Charles Goodyear, the
era of polymers began: Bakelite, nylon, Teflon and Kevlar, materials
used in the production of containers, clothing, auto parts, protective
equipment and countless other applications.
o The silicon era is the most predominant in recent years, because it is
present in all the electronic devices we know (cell phones, tablets,
computers, consoles, etc.) in their components.
Importance of materials
The importance of materials arises with the needs of human beings, that is, to feed
ourselves we need cutlery, containers; to transport ourselves we need cars,
airplanes, boats; to communicate we need cell phones, computers, radios,
televisions; that is, in any of the activities carried out by humans, products or
things are necessary that serve as a means to carry them out. Any object or
product is made from one or more materials (substances, metals, polymers,
minerals, wood, among others). Thus, they are the fundamental materials for
building a better quality of life, and inherent to human needs.
Definition of materials technology
Materials technology is the study of the structure and properties of materials, as
well as the study of methods, techniques and industrial processes used in the
creation of new materials and those products that require specific properties from
existing materials and that are intended to meet a need.
Objective of materials technology
Its objective is to understand the internal structure and properties of materials in
order to manufacture new products or materials with specific properties that
satisfy the needs of humanity, applying prior knowledge of the materials.
NATIONAL POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE
INTERDISCIPLINARY PROFESSIONAL UNIT OF ENGINEERING GUANAJUATO
CAMPUS
MORALES VALENZUELA CHRISTIAN
MATERIALS TECHNOLOGY 2IV6
Personal conclusions
Materials technology is important today and has been important to humanity since
prehistoric times. With the existence of human beings on the planet, human needs
were also created; feeding, communicating and surviving were tasks that were
experienced daily at that time. With these needs, man's curiosity was awakened to
make tasks easier, and with the passage of time, technology has made it possible
for us to transform all those materials that we have in nature around us into
complex artifacts that make our daily tasks easier. Materials technology is present
in everything around us, in the clothes we wear, in the cars we drive, in the glass
we use to drink water.
Personally, for me as an engineering student, materials technology takes on
importance because in the industry it is vital to know what the properties of a
material are, since when manufacturing a product it is necessary that it meets
certain requirements that ensure that its use does not put people's lives at risk and
that it can fulfill its function 100%. Furthermore, as industrial engineers, knowing
the properties of materials gives us the opportunity to create products at lower
costs than traditionally done with the same quality and functionality as those
manufactured with other materials in order to innovate and generate higher
income, even to adapt to environmental measures that are very important today.
Literature
Askeland, DR, Rosales, L. P., & Wright, W. (2015). Materials science and engineering (7th. ed.). Cengage
Learning.
Galvele, J. (2011). Materials and humanity. In Materials and raw materials (pp. 5–36). National Institute of
Technological Education. http://www.inet.edu.ar/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/los-materiales-y-la-
humanidad.pdf
Smith, W. F., & Hashemi, J. (2006). Fundamentals of materials science and engineering. McGraw-Hill
Education.
