机械工程专业英语第6课1.pptVIP

TECHNICAL ENGLISH MECHANICAL ENGINEERING YAN NU 6 MATERIALS We live in a world of man-made materials. Steel, aluminum, plastics, ceramics, copper, glass, and all the others are the concrete substance of our ideas, our designs, our product plans and blueprints. Of course, materials have always been vital to human civilization. There of humanity’s earliest eras are called the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age, because the civilization of each was almost entirely dependent on the materials after which the era was named. 6 MATERIALS But now, in the twentieth century, materials-not just one, but many –have become a most important factor on which the advance of technology and industry depends. Our progress in space, in electronics, and in atomic energy is directly linked to the solution of crucial materials problems. Even in many of the less glamorous manufacturing fields, materials are of major importance in the planning, design, and manufacture of products. 6 MATERIALS Whether it is a rocket nose cone that must withstand the tremendous heat of re-entry into the atmosphere, or a washing machine, the use of proper materials is indispensable to the success of the product. Until the beginning of this century, the world of materials was relatively small. It was composed of only the few common materials with which we all are familiar: iron, copper, lead, wood, glass, ceramics, and rubber. But then steel and aluminum were produced commercially, and the first commercial plastics were developed. 6 MATERIALS In the last 50 years, the number of new metals, alloys, plastics, rubbers, and ceramics has increased exponentially. Today there are several hundred times as many different materials as in 1900, and it is estimated that there are between 50,000 and 70,000 different compositions and grades available now. For example, in 1900, less than 100 different materials were used in automobiles. Today’s car has at least 4,000 diff