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Engineering · Materials Science

Materials Testing Lab

Pull steel, glass and rubber until they break, heat-treat a blade, stack carbon-fibre layers and zoom from a hair to a single gold nanoparticle.

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First lesson01 · What is it made of, and what is it like?See all 29 lessons →

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The course

7 worlds · 29 lessons

World 1 · Pick the Right Material

FREEProperties, trade-offs, property charts and fair tests
  1. 01What is it made of, and what is it like?Properties in everyday words · 9 min
  2. 02Choosing for the jobRequirements and trade-offs · 10 min
  3. 03Property chartsSeeing many materials on one map · 10 min
  4. 04A fair testHow to compare materials · 10 min

World 2 · Pull It Until It Breaks

PROStress–strain curves, stiffness, strength, toughness, cracks and fatigue
  1. 01Stress and strainForce per area, stretch per length · 10 minPRO
  2. 02Hooke’s law and Young’s modulusThe stiffness slope · 11 minPRO
  3. 03Yield, necking and fractureWhat a metal does when you keep pulling · 12 minPRO
  4. 04Stiff, strong or tough?Three words that are not synonyms · 11 minPRO
  5. 05Cracks and fatigueHow strong things break anyway · 12 minPRO

World 3 · Heat Treating Steel

PROCarbon, quenching, tempering, annealing and brittle fracture
  1. 01Steel is iron with a pinch of carbonThe most useful alloy · 10 minPRO
  2. 02Heat and quenchMaking martensite · 11 minPRO
  3. 03TemperingTrading hardness for toughness · 11 minPRO
  4. 04Annealing, microstructure and the Liberty-ship lessonSoft on purpose, and brittle by surprise · 12 minPRO

World 4 · Composites: Stronger Together

PROFibre and matrix, the rule of mixtures, layers and real uses
  1. 01Two materials, one partFibre and matrix · 9 minPRO
  2. 02The rule of mixturesAdding stiffness by volume · 11 minPRO
  3. 03Stacking layersOrient the fibres to the load · 11 minPRO
  4. 04Composites in the worldFrom wood to wings · 9 minPRO

World 5 · Slime, Oobleck and Polymers

PROLong chains, crosslinks, fluids that change their mind, and gels
  1. 01Long chainsWhat a polymer is · 9 minPRO
  2. 02Thermoplastic, thermoset, elastomerThree families of polymers · 11 minPRO
  3. 03Non-Newtonian fluidsOobleck, ketchup and toothpaste · 12 minPRO
  4. 04Gels and slimeCrosslinks you can feel · 10 minPRO

World 6 · Shape-Memory and Smart Materials

PRONitinol, superelasticity, piezoelectrics and more
  1. 01NitinolA wire that remembers · 10 minPRO
  2. 02Superelasticity and usesStents, glasses and braces · 10 minPRO
  3. 03Other smart materialsPiezoelectrics, thermochromics, self-healing · 10 minPRO

World 7 · Nano World: When Size Changes Everything

PROScale, surfaces, gecko feet, lotus leaves and red gold
  1. 01From a hair to an atomFinding the nanoscale · 9 minPRO
  2. 02Surface versus volumeWhy small things behave differently · 10 minPRO
  3. 03The gecko footA billion weak grips · 11 minPRO
  4. 04The lotus effectRoughness that repels water · 10 minPRO
  5. 05Gold that is redHow size changes colour · 11 minPRO
Materials Testing Lab — interactive 3D lab · Novareka