Materials Science Cheat Sheet

The core ideas of Materials Science distilled into a single, scannable reference — perfect for review or quick lookup.

PiqCue — piqcue.com/materials-science/cheatsheet

Quick Reference

Crystal Structure

The ordered, repeating three-dimensional arrangement of atoms, ions, or molecules in a crystalline solid. Common crystal structures include face-centered cubic (FCC), body-centered cubic (BCC), and hexagonal close-packed (HCP), each conferring different mechanical and physical properties.

Phase Diagram

A graphical representation showing the stable phases of a material system as a function of temperature, pressure, and composition. Phase diagrams are essential tools for predicting material behavior during processing and service.

Dislocations

Linear defects in the crystal lattice where atoms are misaligned. Dislocations are the primary mechanism by which metals deform plastically. Their movement, multiplication, and interaction govern a material's strength and ductility.

Polymer Chain Architecture

The molecular structure of polymers, including chain length, branching, cross-linking, and the arrangement of repeat units. These structural features determine whether a polymer is a flexible thermoplastic, a rigid thermoset, or an elastic elastomer.

Composite Materials

Engineered materials made from two or more constituent materials with significantly different properties that, when combined, produce a material with characteristics superior to either component alone. The constituents remain distinct at the macroscopic level.

Diffusion

The thermally activated process by which atoms or molecules migrate through a material. Diffusion governs many critical phenomena including phase transformations, oxidation, sintering, doping of semiconductors, and creep deformation at elevated temperatures.

Fracture Mechanics

The study of how cracks initiate, propagate, and lead to failure in materials. It provides the theoretical framework for predicting the conditions under which a material will fail, using concepts such as stress intensity factor and fracture toughness.

Semiconductors

Materials with electrical conductivity between that of conductors and insulators, whose properties can be precisely controlled by introducing small amounts of impurity atoms (dopants). Silicon and germanium are elemental semiconductors; gallium arsenide is a compound semiconductor.

Nanomaterials

Materials with at least one dimension in the nanometer range (1-100 nm). At this scale, materials exhibit unique properties due to quantum effects and their extremely high surface-area-to-volume ratio, differing significantly from their bulk counterparts.

Corrosion

The electrochemical degradation of materials, particularly metals, through reaction with their environment. Corrosion involves the oxidation of a metal at an anodic site and a corresponding reduction reaction at a cathodic site, often in the presence of moisture and electrolytes.

Key Terms at a Glance

Allotrope:Different structural forms of the same element. For example, carbon exists as diamond, graphite, and fullerenes.

Amorphous:A non-crystalline solid lacking long-range atomic order. Examples include glass and metallic glasses.

Annealing:A heat treatment involving heating and slow cooling to relieve stress, reduce hardness, and improve ductility.

Austenite:The face-centered cubic (FCC) phase of iron, stable at high temperatures. The starting phase for most steel heat treatments.

Biomaterial:Any material designed to interact with biological systems for medical purposes, such as implants or drug delivery.

Brittle Fracture:Sudden failure with little or no plastic deformation. Characteristic of ceramics and some metals at low temperatures.

Ceramic:An inorganic, non-metallic solid processed at high temperatures, typically hard, brittle, and heat-resistant.

Composite:A material made of two or more constituents with different properties, combined to produce superior characteristics.

Corrosion:The electrochemical degradation of a material due to reaction with its environment, especially affecting metals.

Crystallography:The study of atomic arrangements in crystalline solids, using techniques like X-ray diffraction.

Ductility:A material's ability to undergo significant plastic deformation before fracture. Measured by elongation or reduction in area.

Elastomer:A polymer with high elasticity that can stretch to many times its original length and return to its original shape.

Fatigue:The progressive weakening and failure of a material under repeated cyclic loading, even below its yield strength.

Ferrite:The body-centered cubic (BCC) phase of iron, stable at room temperature. Relatively soft and magnetic.

Grain:A single crystallite within a polycrystalline material, each with a uniform crystal orientation.

Get study tips in your inbox

We'll send you evidence-based study strategies and new cheat sheets as they're published.

We'll notify you about updates. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.