Materials science is the study of matter and its properties. It is a relatively new field that emerged from the study of physics and chemistry in the 19th century. The term “materials science” was first coined by German physicist Hermann von Helmholtz in 1861.
The field of materials science covers a wide range of length scales, from the subatomic level (e.g., electronic structure) to the macroscopic level (e.g., mechanical properties). In addition, it encompasses a wide range of time scales, from picoseconds (ps; 10-12 s) to geologic time. As such, it is inherently interdisciplinary, drawing upon knowledge from across the physical sciences.
At its core, materials science is concerned with understanding how materials behave under different conditions and how they can be manipulated to achieve desired outcomes. This requires knowledge of both the microscale behavior of individual atoms and molecules—the building blocks of all matter—as well as the macroscale behavior of bulk materials made up of those atoms and molecules. For example, one might want to understand why a particular metal is strong but brittle so that steps can be taken to make it more ductile (i.e., less likely to break when bent), which would make it more useful for engineering applications. To do this, one must understand not only how atoms bond together to form crystals—the basis for most metals—but also how those crystals deform under stress at a variety