Fifty Materials That Make the World

Ian Baker is a Professor of Engineering at Dartmouth College. His research interests include mechanical behavior of metallic alloys, magnetic materials, ice and snow, phase transformations, electron microscopy, and x-ray techniques.

• Chapter 1. ABS Plastics.- Chapter 2.Aluminium/Aluminum.- Chapter 3.Asphalt.- Chapter 4. Bakelite.- Chapter 5.Bronze.- Chapter 6.Celluloid.- Chapter 7.Clay.- Chapter 8.Concrete.- Chapter 9. Copper.- Chapter 10. Cotton.- Chapter 11. Diamond.- Chapter 12. Gallium Arsenide.- Chapter 13.Glass.- Chapter 14.Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymers.- Chapter 15.Gold.- Chapter 16.Graphite.- Chapter 17.Gutta Percha.- Chapter 18.Iron.- Chapter 19.Kevlar and Other Aramid Fibers.- Chapter 20.Lead.- Chapter 21.Lead Zirconate Titanate.- Chapter 22.Leather.- Chapter 23.Lithium.- Chapter 24.Magnesium.- Chapter 25.Nickel-Based Superalloys.- Chapter 26.Nitinol.- Chapter 27.Nylon.- chapter 28.Paper.- Chapter 29.Platinum.- Chapter 30.Polyster.- Chapter 31. Polyethylene.- Chapter 32. Polypropylene.- Chapter 33. Polystyrene.- Chapter 34. Polytetraflouroethylene.- Chapter 35.PVC.- Chapter 36.Rare Earth Magnets.- Chapter 37.Rayon.- Chapter 38.Rubber.- Chapter 39.Silicon.- Chapter 40. Silver.- Chapter 41. Steel.- Chapter 42. Stainless steel.- Chapter 43. Stone.- Chapter 44. Tin.- Chapter 45. Titanium.- chapter 46. Tungsten.- Chapter 47. Uranium/Uranium Oxide.- Chapter 48. Wood.- Chapter 49. Wool.- Chapter 50. Zinc.

“This fascinating and useful book, aimed at a wide readership, adopts the point of view that human civilization has been materials-based throughout its history. … Readers with a basic (high school level) understanding of chemistry or physics can easily grasp the material. … the selection of 50 solid materials is quite thorough; readers will be hard pressed to name solid materials important to human history that were omitted. Summing Up: Recommended. All levels.” (J. Lambropoulos, Choice, Vol. 56 (5), January, 2019)