Science & Technology: Explore Materials

Atomic Arrangements in Solids
This video/animation asks the question "So if the same molecules are in the solid, liquid, and vapor forms of water, why are their properties so different?" The properties of a material are affected not just by the kinds of atom in it, but also by how they are arranged, and how free they are to move around. Forms of carbon are introduced, from graphite to buckyballs.

Bend, Twist and Break: Breaking Glass
Dr. Chris Muhlstein explains that researchers learn about the scientific basis for failure of materials by running experiments in the lab, using a simple shape like a glass rod to calculate the strength of material and predict its failure. The same tests can be done at the micro and nano scale using tiny specimens. Students can run a similar experiment with a bar of chocolate.

Bend, Twist and Break: The Bridge
Dr. Chris Muhlstein explains that the arrangement of atoms in a material determines the properties. He drops an iPod to illustrate how the arrangement of atoms can protect it from damage; he narrates footage of the collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in the 1940s to show how the deformation of materials can cause the collapse of a structure.

Building Blocks of Matter
Structure of matter.

Do Materials Get Tired? Creep
This video explains that materials will deform slowly or “creep” under the right conditions, when constant force is applied. “Strain” is illustrated with rubber bands and we learn that engineers can calculate creep strain as a function of time.

Do Materials Get Tired? Fatigue
This video explains how the strength of a material can be measured in the laboratory and used to design structures, like bikes, airplanes, and even chairs. We see a controlled lab experiment that applies precise force to a paperclip until it breaks.

Do Materials Get Tired? How Long will a Paperclip Last? (HS)
This lesson plan investigates how materials fail under prolonged stress. By rotating the angle and type of paperclips, students mimic tests done by engineers who make sure that things will not break due to fatigue while you are using them.

Electrons in Motion
A materials science and engineering professor, Dr. Chris Muhlstein of Penn State University, explains how electrons flowing through a wire can be turned into mechanical work using a motor.

How Hard is Chocolate?
Hardness is probably a concept you are well familiar with. You already know that certain materials are harder than others; in fact, you prove it everyday when you chew your food and your teeth don’t break (because your teeth are harder than the foods you chew). Hardness can be defined as a material's ability to resist a change in shape. Modern hardness testers take a well-defined shape and press it into a material with a certain force, observing the indent it leaves in the material when it is removed. In this lesson, you will be performing hardness testing on different bars of chocolate.

Mechanical Properties of Chocolate: How Hard is your Chocolate?
Hardness is probably a concept you are well familiar with. You already know that certain materials are harder than others; in fact, you prove it everyday when you chew your food and your teeth don’t break (because your teeth are harder than the foods you chew). Hardness can be defined as a material's ability to resist a change in shape. Modern hardness testers take a well-defined shape and press it into a material with a certain force, observing the indent it leaves in the material when it is removed. In this lesson, you will be performing hardness testing on different bars of chocolate.

Moving Atoms
A materials science and engineering professor, Dr. Chris Muhlstein of Penn State University, explains how to rearrange atoms without touching them with your hands.

Structure and Property Changes of Water
Dr. Chris Muhlstein explains the challenge of studying materials that are too small to see with the naked eye. The technique some scientists use to observe individual atoms is similar to the technique of using touch to find out the size, shape, and location of objects in a dark room. By using a very small, sharp sensor, scientists can create an image of atoms.

Taking Pictures of Things You Can't See
Dr. Chris Muhlstein explains the challenge of studying materials that are too small to see with the naked eye. The technique some scientists use to observe individual atoms is similar to the technique of using touch to find out the size, shape, and location of objects in a dark room. By using a very small, sharp sensor, scientists can create an image of atoms.

Turning Electricity and Magnetism into Mechanical Work with a Simple Motor (HS)
Students will explore what happens at the atomic level when electricity and magnetism interact to create a force. They will watch a video about electrons in motion, build a simple motor, and observe and predict ways to manipulate its operation.

What Holds a Molecule Together?
This video/animation illustrates that a molecule is a small group of atoms that is stuck or bonded together with electrons. Dr. Chris Muhlstein introduces the idea of three primary types of bonds: ionic, covalent and metallic; animations show how they form at the atomic level, and give everyday examples

What is Matter?
This video/animation defines matter, mass, and volume using water as an example. The size, electrical charge and location of the subatomic particles of matter are described. Different types of atoms are called elements and organized in the periodic table. What happens to the properties of atoms when they exist alone or together?