Materials Science Glossary

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A material's resistance to localized plastic deformation, typically measured by indentation tests (Vickers, Rockwell, Brinell).

A point defect where an atom occupies a space between the regular lattice sites. Carbon in iron is a key example.

A hard, metastable phase in steel formed by rapid quenching. Has a body-centered tetragonal structure.

The structure of a material as revealed by microscopy, including grain size, phase distribution, and defect arrangement.

A lamellar microstructure of alternating ferrite and cementite layers, formed by slow cooling of austenite in steel.

A large molecule composed of repeating structural units (monomers) connected by covalent bonds.

A process of compacting and forming a solid mass by heat and/or pressure without melting to the point of liquefaction.

Reheating quenched steel to a moderate temperature to reduce brittleness while retaining most of the hardness.

A material's ability to absorb energy and plastically deform before fracture. Represented by the area under the stress-strain curve.

A point defect where an atom is missing from its regular lattice site. Concentration increases with temperature.