materials science

IPA/mətˈiəɹiəlz sˈaɪəns/
IPA/mətˈɪɹiəlz sˈaɪəns/

materials science — phrase

1. the study of what solid substances are made of, how they behave under different

1.phraseB2
Definition

the study of what solid substances are made of, how they behave under different conditions, and how they can be used to make useful products — for example, metals, plastics, ceramics, and carbon fibres.

Example

Valentina chose to study materials science at university to help develop better solar panels.

choose to study [field] at university — purpose clause

Putri's research in materials science helped her company design a lighter frame for racing bicycles.

Common collocations
  • study materials science
  • materials science research
  • materials science department
  • advances in materials science
  • materials science and engineering
Synonyms
  • materials engineering

    focuses more on the practical application and manufacturing side, whereas materials science emphasises understanding the underlying structure and properties

Grammar Patterns

materials science + verb (singular)

Usage Note

Materials science is an uncountable noun and is usually used without an article, like other academic fields (e.g., 'She studies materials science,' not 'a materials science').

Common Mistakes

He is studying a materials science at the university.
He is studying materials science at the university.
academic subject names do not take an article.

Synonym discussion

Sense: phrase/1

Materials science focuses on understanding why materials behave the way they do—examining atomic structure, chemical bonds, and physical properties. Materials engineering, by contrast, applies that understanding to design and manufacture actual products, often optimising cost, durability, and production methods. 'Materials science and engineering' is the combined field taught at many universities. Materials research is a broader term covering any investigation of material properties, whether basic or applied. Solid-state physics is a related but narrower discipline that studies the quantum behaviour of atoms in solids, whereas materials science integrates chemistry, physics, and engineering in a more applied way.

materials engineeringmaterials science and engineeringmaterials researchsolid-state physics

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

The term 'materials science' came into common use in the 1960s, combining 'material' (from Latin materia, meaning 'substance' or 'timber') with 'science' (from Latin scientia, 'knowledge'). It was coined to describe the growing interdisciplinary field that emerged from metallurgy and solid-state physics as researchers realised that understanding the structure of substances at the atomic level could lead to the design of entirely new materials.

First known use

1956

1956, in the meaning defined above