This course focuses on the fundamentals of structure, energetics, and bonding that underpin materials science. It is the introductory lecture class for sophomore students in Materials Science and Engineering, taken with 3.014 and 3.016 to create a unified introduction to the subject. Topics include: an introduction to thermodynamic functions and laws governing equilibrium properties, relating macroscopic behavior to atomistic and molecular models of materials; the role of electronic bonding in determining the energy, structure, and stability of materials; quantum mechanical descriptions of interacting electrons and atoms; materials phenomena, such as heat capacities, phase transformations, and multiphase equilibria to chemical reactions and magnetism; symmetry properties of molecules and solids; structure of complex, disordered, and amorphous materials; tensors and constraints on physical properties imposed by symmetry; and determination of structure through diffraction. Real-world applications include engineered alloys, electronic and magnetic materials, ionic and network solids, polymers, and biomaterials.
This course is a core subject in MIT’s undergraduate Energy Studies Minor. This Institute-wide program complements the deep expertise obtained in any major with a broad understanding of the interlinked realms of science, technology, and social sciences as they relate to energy and associated environmental challenges.

This course provides a thorough introduction to the principles and methods of physics for students who have good preparation in physics and mathematics. Emphasis is placed on problem solving and quantitative reasoning. This course covers Newtonian mechanics, special relativity, gravitation, thermodynamics, and waves.

Pump gas molecules to a box and see what happens as you change the volume, add or remove heat, change gravity, and more. Measure the temperature and pressure, and discover how the properties of the gas vary in relation to each other.

The overall goal of the authors with General Chemistry: Principles, Patterns, and Applications was to produce a text that introduces the students to the relevance and excitement of chemistry.Although much of first-year chemistry is taught as a service course, Bruce and Patricia feel there is no reason that the intrinsic excitement and potential of chemistry cannot be the focal point of the text and the course. So, they emphasize the positive aspects of chemistry and its relationship to studentsŐ lives, which requires bringing in applications early and often. In addition, the authors feel that many first year chemistry students have an enthusiasm for biologically and medically relevant topics, so they use an integrated approach in their text that includes explicit discussions of biological and environmental applications of chemistry.

How do greenhouse gases affect the climate? Explore the atmosphere during the ice age and today. What happens when you add clouds? Change the greenhouse gas concentration and see how the temperature changes. Then compare to the effect of glass panes. Zoom in and see how light interacts with molecules. Do all atmospheric gases contribute to the greenhouse effect?

Build your own miniature "greenhouse" out of a plastic container and plastic wrap, and fill it with different things such as dirt and sand to observe the effect this has on temperature. Monitor the temperature using temperature probes and digitally plot the data on the graphs provided in the activity.

This activity is a classroom demonstration activity in which students make predictions and explore the concepts and applications of heat transfer and heat absorption.

This Physics resource was developed under the guidance and support of experienced high school teachers and subject matter experts. It is presented here in multiple formats: PDF, online, and low-cost print. Beginning with an introduction to physics and scientific processes and followed by chapters focused on motion, mechanics, thermodynamics, waves, and light, this book incorporates a variety of tools to engage and inspire students. Hands-on labs, worked examples, and highlights of how physics is applicable everywhere in the natural world are embedded throughout the book, and each chapter incorporates a variety of assessment types such as practice problems, performance tasks, and traditional multiple choice items. Additional instructor resources are included as well, including direct instruction presentations and a solutions manual.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"For more than 5,000 years, metals and alloys have been formed in roughly the same way—propelling civilization from the Bronze Age to the Industrial Revolution and to the Aerospace Age. Now there’s a new technique on the horizon that could help us take another big leap forward. It’s called high-entropy alloying, and the latest Focus issue of the Journal of Materials Research showcases scientists’ and engineers’ latest efforts in understanding high-entropy alloys and their potential applications. Traditional physical metallurgy uses an element with attractive properties as a base, and adds small amounts of other elements to improve those and other properties. Over thousands of years, various elements have been used as the base: first copper, then iron, then one by one across the periodic table, until researchers developed the first titanium alloys in the 1950s. It’s a method that’s proven incredibly effective. But there are signs that the approach may be reaching its natural limit..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This classroom activity is an inquiry based lesson where students observe and measure temperature changes in order to determine which fabrics are best at keeping in heat.

Examination of Second of Thermodynamics (endo/exothermic and entropy) using a thought story, rubber band inquiry, discrepant event and lecture.

This course studies the fundamentals of how the design and operation of internal combustion engines affect their performance, efficiency, fuel requirements, and environmental impact. Topics include fluid flow, thermodynamics, combustion, heat transfer and friction phenomena, and fuel properties, with reference to engine power, efficiency, and emissions. Students examine the design features and operating characteristics of different types of internal combustion engines: spark-ignition, diesel, stratified-charge, and mixed-cycle engines. The class includes lab project in the Engine Laboratory.

In Introduction to particle and continuum mechanics, we study the classical physics of both collections of particles and continuous media. Taking Newton’s laws of motion as our axioms, we develop the theory of motion without the need for prior knowledge, with a particular focus on the laws of conservation of energy, momentum, and angular momentum. The relevant mathematics is provided in an appendix. The text contains various worked examples and a large number of original problems to help the reader develop an intuition for the physics.

In the first part, the focus is on particle physics, with applications to rockets, billiards, fictitious forces, spinning tennis rackets and the solar system. Next to Newtonian mechanics, we also study the Lagrangian formalism, which is particularly useful for systems with constraints, and generalizes to both quantum and relativistic systems. In the second part, we move to continuum systems, studying solid deformations, fluid flows, and the laws of thermodynamics, which give rise, among others, to heat engines, waves, and encounters with viscoelastic materials, with properties in between those of ordinary fluids or solids.

This activity is a guided inquiry of how molecules move in liquid. Students develop questions, use their observation skills to describe what they saw, record and analyze their findings, and use their data to begin to hypothesize what is happening in the investigation.

This course presents a unified treatment of phenomenological and atomistic kinetic processes in materials. It provides the foundation for the advanced understanding of processing, microstructural evolution, and behavior for a broad spectrum of materials. The course emphasizes analysis and development of rigorous comprehension of fundamentals. Topics include: irreversible thermodynamics; diffusion; nucleation; phase transformations; fluid and heat transport; morphological instabilities; gas-solid, liquid-solid, and solid-solid reactions.

In this video David explains how the internal energy of a gas varies as a function of temperature. Created by David SantoPietro.

This course introduces thermodynamic principles; open and closed systems representative of engineering problems; and first and second law of thermodynamics with applications to engineering systems and design. Topics include: thermodynamic concepts, thermodynamic properties, the first law of thermodynamics, first law analysis for a control volume, the second law of thermodynamics, entropy, and second law analysis for a control volume.

In this activity the temperature of a reaction is monitored for different concentrations of reactants.