Material
hideMaterial is synonymous with Substance, and is anything made of matter - hydrogen, air and water are all examples of materials. Sometimes the term Material is used more narrowly to refer to substances or components with certain physical properties which are used as inputs to production or manufacturing. In this sense, materials are the pieces required to make something else, from buildings and art to stars and computers.
A material can be anything: a finished product in its own right or an unprocessed raw material. Raw materials are first extracted or harvested from the earth and divided into a form that can be easily transported and stored, then processed to produce semi-finished materials. These can be input into a new cycle of production and finishing processes to create finished materials, ready for distribution, construction, and consumption.
An example of a raw material is cotton, which is harvested from plants, and can then be processed into thread (also considered a raw material), which can then be woven into cloth, a semi-finished material. Cutting and sewing the fabric turns it into a garment, which is a finished material. Steelmaking is another example—raw materials in the form of ore are mined, refined and processed into steel, a semi-finished material. Steel is then used as an input in many other industries to make finished products.
For more information about Material, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with materials
New materials designed to deal with hypersonic and supersonic hot stuff (w/ Video)
Dec 24, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (19) |
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University of Queensland researchers are testing new materials to withstand the extreme heat experienced by hypersonic vehicles in flight so they can fly for substantially longer.
Next generation lens promises more control
Dec 20, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (22) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Duke University engineers have created a new generation of lens that could greatly improve the capabilities of telecommunications or radar systems to provide a wide field of view and greater ...
An easy way to see the world's thinnest material
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Dec 23, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (12) |
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It's been used to dye the Chicago River green on St. Patrick's Day. It's been used to find latent blood stains at crime scenes. And now researchers at Northwestern University have used it to examine the thinnest material ...
Watching Proteins Direct Crystal Growth One Step at a Time (w/ Video)
Dec 16, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at Berkeley Lab's Molecular Foundry imaged the growth of protein-studded mineral surfaces with unprecedented resolution and provided a glimpse into how living systems engineer key ...
Thermochemical nanolithography now allows multiple chemicals on a chip
Dec 16, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at Georgia Tech have developed a nanolithographic technique that can produce high-resolution patterns of at least three different chemicals on a single chip at writing speeds of ...
Bioengineered materials promote the growth of functional vasculature, new study shows
Dec 21, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (4) |
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Regenerative medicine therapies often require the growth of functional, stable blood vessels at the site of an injury. Using synthetic polymers called hydrogels, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology ...
Argonne scientists use bacteria to power simple machines (w/ Video)
Dec 16, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory and Northwestern University, Evanston, have discovered that common bacteria can turn microgears when suspended in ...
Gallium nitride transistor could replace silicon
Dec 08, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (36) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A Cornell researcher has created an extremely efficient transistor made from gallium nitride, which may soon replace silicon as king of semiconductors for power applications.
Entropy alone creates complex crystals from simple shapes, study shows
Dec 09, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- In a study that elevates the role of entropy in creating order, research led by the University of Michigan shows that certain pyramid shapes can spontaneously organize into complex quasicrystals.
Japan mines toxic e-waste for precious materials
Dec 17, 2009 |
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Seeking to turn an environmental problem into an economic opportunity, high-tech companies in resource-poor Japan are mining mountains of toxic e-waste for precious materials.
Graphite oxide at high pressure opens a road to new amazing nano-materials
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Dec 21, 2009 |
5 / 5 (2) |
1
(PhysOrg.com) -- New results by scientists at Umeľ University, Sweden, show that not only water but also alcohol solvents can be inserted to expand the structure of graphite oxide under high pressure conditions. The ...
Tracking new cancer-killing particles with MRI
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Dec 14, 2009 |
5 / 5 (4) |
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Researchers at Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) have created a single nanoparticle that can be tracked in real time with MRI as it homes in on cancer cells, tags them with a fluorescent ...
Sparkly Spiders and Photonic Fish
Dec 09, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (2) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists in Israel and the UK have uncovered the details of how certain fish and spiders create their iridescent scales and silvery skins.
Bacteria make the artificial blood vessels of the future
Dec 22, 2009 |
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The cellulose produced by bacteria could be used for artificial blood vessels in the future as it carries a lower risk of blood clots than the synthetic materials currently used for bypass operations, reveals ...
Boeing's 787 Dreamliner set for maiden flight
Dec 15, 2009 |
4 / 5 (1) |
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Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner jet takes to the skies for the first time Tuesday, in a critical milestone for the problem-plagued aircraft seen as key to the future of the US aerospace giant.
