The future of materials: project reflection
All materials on Earth are made of matter. As mankind evolved, so too did our understanding of the world around us. Chemistry was a driving force of the progression of society. Without understanding the structure of an atom, we wouldn't understand how atoms bond together, and we wouldn't be able to pick the right materials for the world around us. And without exploring new technologies, our society would never grow and change. The advancements being made at Cornell with textiles, such as bonding nano particles to threads, are an example of the direction of progress that our society is headed towards.
The physical and chemical properties of a material can be explained by the structure of the material itself. Fluorine is highly reactive because it has a strong desire to gain one electron to reach a full octet. As a result, it is highly unstable, whereas the noble gases are inert because they all have a full electron outer shell. Materials with ionic bonds (non-metals and metals) are stronger than materials with covalent and metallic bonds (non-metal and non-metal, metal and metal) are generally stronger, because the intermolecular forces in ionic bonds are stronger than covalent or metallic. Metals are incredibly ductile because they have regions of crystallinity, which allows the atoms to slide past each other to stretch into new shapes.
The physical and chemical properties of a material can be explained by the structure of the material itself. Fluorine is highly reactive because it has a strong desire to gain one electron to reach a full octet. As a result, it is highly unstable, whereas the noble gases are inert because they all have a full electron outer shell. Materials with ionic bonds (non-metals and metals) are stronger than materials with covalent and metallic bonds (non-metal and non-metal, metal and metal) are generally stronger, because the intermolecular forces in ionic bonds are stronger than covalent or metallic. Metals are incredibly ductile because they have regions of crystallinity, which allows the atoms to slide past each other to stretch into new shapes.