Metals
Metals have been important to our civilization. From bridges and skyscrapers
to silicon chips, metals and alloys still play a crucial role in our everyday life.
A metal is a crystalline structure with atoms arranged in an orderly fashion. Metals
are good conductors of heat and electricity.
Material scientists are not only interested in the properties of metals that be seen
with the naked eye, but must rely on microscopic analysis to determine if a metal
or alloy has the necessary properties for its uses.
Single unit of silicon
(notice its cubic alignment)
References
Sass. Stephen L. The Substance of Civilization. Materials and Human History from
the Stone Age to the Age of Silicon. New York: Arcade Publishing, 1998.
Voort, Vander. Metallography. Principles and Practice. New York: McGraw Hill,
1984.