The Three Essential to Materials
A Great Paper.
Knowing Science
To Understand the
Quality of Life
Cody Seaton SCI101 IP 1 Kristina Jantz August 26, 2013
The three essential properties of every material are these:
1. What kind of atom makes up that material? 2. How are the atoms in the material arranged? 3. How are the atoms in the material bonded together? (Trefil, p. 239)
Atoms make up everything we can see, therefore every material, and atoms have very different properties within themselves, as well as having different ways of being arranged or of bonding together, all of which affect the physical and chemical properties of whatever is made up of those atoms. Most materials either conduct electricity or fail to conduct electricity. However, there is a third type of material that is not a really good electrical conductor, and at the same time, is not really a great insulator either. These materials are called semiconductors, such as silicon and germanium (Trefil, p. 243). Semiconductors do carry electricity, but they have far greater resistance to the flow of electricity than do conductors. In fact, that resistance is actually millions of times more than one will measure in a good conductor. The vibration energy of the atoms in a semiconductor can shake electrons that are used for bonding loose, and allow them to move around the material. When they are shaken loose, they leave behind a hole, which is then also something that is able to change and therefore move. This produces a flow in the opposite direction of the electron movement (Trefil, p. 244). Semiconductors like silicon have some very interesting electrical properties because of their structure. This has made them into the cause of the technology revolution of recent decades, resulting in amazing strides in computing power that we all experience on a daily basis.
Scientists
Knowing Science
To Understand the
Quality of Life
Cody Seaton SCI101 IP 1 Kristina Jantz August 26, 2013
The three essential properties of every material are these:
1. What kind of atom makes up that material? 2. How are the atoms in the material arranged? 3. How are the atoms in the material bonded together? (Trefil, p. 239)
Atoms make up everything we can see, therefore every material, and atoms have very different properties within themselves, as well as having different ways of being arranged or of bonding together, all of which affect the physical and chemical properties of whatever is made up of those atoms. Most materials either conduct electricity or fail to conduct electricity. However, there is a third type of material that is not a really good electrical conductor, and at the same time, is not really a great insulator either. These materials are called semiconductors, such as silicon and germanium (Trefil, p. 243). Semiconductors do carry electricity, but they have far greater resistance to the flow of electricity than do conductors. In fact, that resistance is actually millions of times more than one will measure in a good conductor. The vibration energy of the atoms in a semiconductor can shake electrons that are used for bonding loose, and allow them to move around the material. When they are shaken loose, they leave behind a hole, which is then also something that is able to change and therefore move. This produces a flow in the opposite direction of the electron movement (Trefil, p. 244). Semiconductors like silicon have some very interesting electrical properties because of their structure. This has made them into the cause of the technology revolution of recent decades, resulting in amazing strides in computing power that we all experience on a daily basis.
Scientists
References: Trefil, J., and Hazen, R. M. (2013). The Sciences: An Integrated Approach, Seventh Edition. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. Ron Stevens, 30-year IBM Research Scientist and Engineer, personal interview, 2013.