Chemical Education Today
Book & Media Reviews
Properties of Materials by Mary Anne White Oxford University Press: New York, 1999. 400 pp. ISBN 0-19-511331-4. $45.00. reviewed by Richard W. Schaeffer
Properties of Materials is an aptly titled book that provides a very readable introduction to, well, the behavior of a variety of “hard” and “soft” materials. The book is divided into five sections, labeled Parts I–V, and 14 chapters. After a brief introductory chapter (which comprises all of Part I) on the history, importance, and future of materials science, the remaining parts are organized around various properties of materials. Part II (Chapters 2 through 5) covers optical properties of materials, with the focus primarily on color. The author at least mentions virtually every common phenomenon that gives rise to color, including black-body radiation, F-centers, HOMO–LUMO transitions, band-gap transitions in semiconductors, and “bulk matter” interference effects. In discussing the microscopic origin of color, she deftly introduces basic concepts about the electronic structure of solids. Part III (Chapters 6–11) covers thermal properties of matter, including treatments of heat capacity, thermal conductivity, and phase stability that are particularly lucid and should be very helpful to the student. Part IV (Chapters 12 and 13) includes electrical and magnetic properties of matter. The author follows a fairly traditional discussion of metals, insulators, and semiconductors via simple band theory, but again impresses with her clear, succinct writing. Part V (Chapter 14) concludes the book with an
edited by
Jeffrey Kovac University of Tennessee Knoxville, TN 37996-1600
introduction to mechanical properties of solids. Throughout the book, the author lays a solid foundation of concepts, which not only facilitates learning the topic at hand, but also helps prepare the student for more advanced work. Despite the qualitative emphasis, the author occasionally introduces quantitative tools to describe and understand aspects of material properties (e.g., distribution functions, partial differential equations, and expectation values) without alienating the mathematically squeamish student. Another appealing feature of the book is the author’s use of “Comment” sections (shaded boxes scattered throughout each chapter) to illustrate and reinforce key ideas and concepts. These short sections often highlight real-world products like paint, “nonstick” coatings, liquid crystals, and stereo speakers without becoming trite or condescending. Finally, the author has provided useful problems (many are “open-ended”), tutorials and well-organized references at the end of each chapter. One criticism of the book is an almost complete lack of treatment of the structure of solids. (The 14 Bravais lattices are summarized in an appendix.) Although the focus of the book is on properties and the author states in the preface that “a basic understanding of crystalline structure is assumed”, an introductory book such as this would prove more useful to a typical instructor with at least one short chapter on structure. I believe Properties of Materials is a well-written introduction to materials science and should prove a valuable resource for an upper-level undergraduate course involving the solid state. I look forward to using it next semester. Richard W. Schaeffer is Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry, Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, PA 17604;
[email protected].
JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu • Vol. 77 No. 7 July 2000 • Journal of Chemical Education
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