Modern Materials

• New materials


  Materials that are being developed all the time
• Modern materials


  Materials that have been developed with a specific purpose
• How modern materials are developed


  By using or advanced manufacturing processes
• Graphene


  A material with amazingly useful properties, was first made in 2004, and since then several processes have been developed to allow it to be made more
• Graphene applications


  • Used in modern electronics
• Metal foams


  Contain many small air pockets, keep many of the metal's properties but are lightweight
• Research since has focused on

  Metal foams were developed in
• Metal foams


  • Already used in lightweight car parts
• Titanium


  A process was developed in the 1930s that allowed it to be extracted and used in the aerospace industry, this is its lightness and ability to be easily machined
• Developments in CAD/CAM


  Have helped to reduce huge machining costs and make titanium more accessible for uses like bone replacements, dental implants, bikes, and shin guards
• Liquid crystal displays (LCDs)


  Use a mixture of chemicals that change shape when an electric current is applied, modifying the image seen on the screen
• LCD uses


  • Used in flat-screen devices like TVs and computer screens
• Nanomaterials


  Made of nanoparticles, our ability to manipulate them for specific purposes is a fairly recent development
• Carbon nanotubes


  • Have a very high strength-to-weight ratio and can be added to materials to increase their strength, also used in electronics
• Nanoparticle coatings


  • Can make surfaces more water-repellent, self-cleaning, or corrosion-resistant
• Smart materials


  Materials that change their properties in response to external stimuli, often used in technology and engineering applications
• Modern materials have lots of useful properties and applications