2
This course focuses on the fundamentals of structure, energetics, and bonding that underpin materials science.
666 years, 7 months
24
It is the introductory lecture class for sophomore students in Materials Science and Engineering, taken with 3.014 and 3.016 to create a unified introduction to the subject. Topics include: an introduction to thermodynamic functions and laws governing equilibrium properties, relating macroscopic behavior to atomistic and molecular models of materials; the role of electronic bonding in determining the energy, structure, and stability of materials; quantum mechanical descriptions of interacting electrons and atoms; materials phenomena, such as heat capacities, phase transformations, and multiphase equilibria to chemical reactions and magnetism; symmetry properties of molecules and solids; structure of complex, disordered, and amorphous materials; tensors and constraints on physical properties imposed by symmetry; and determination of structure through diffraction. Real-world applications include engineered alloys, electronic and magnetic materials, ionic and network solids, polymers, and biomaterials.
This course is a core subject in MIT’s undergraduate Energy Studies Minor. This Institute-wide program complements the deep expertise obtained in any major with a broad understanding of the interlinked realms of science, technology, and social sciences as they relate to energy and associated environmental challenges.
Course Currilcum
- Classical or Quantum: Electrons as Waves, Wave Mechanics Unlimited
- Schrödinger’s Equation and Discrete Energy States of a Confined Electron Unlimited
- Free Electrons, Electrons in a Metal, and the Scanning Tunneling Microscope Unlimited
- Curiosity Killed the Cat: General Principles of Quantum Mechanics Unlimited
- The Hydrogen Atom Unlimited
- The Hydrogen Atom (cont.) Unlimited
- Alphabet Soup: The Periodic Table Unlimited
- The Periodic Table (cont.) Unlimited
- The Variational Principle; Application to Hydrogen Atom Unlimited
- Molecules from Atoms: Energy Minimization, Hybridization of Atomic Orbitals Unlimited
- Bonding in Molecules: Hartree and Hartree-Fock Equations, Symmetries, Bond Order Unlimited
- Polymers Part 1: Diagonalization on a Basis, Huckel Model Unlimited
- Quantum Oscillation Unlimited
- Point Groups and Bravais Lattices Unlimited
- Symmetry Operations Unlimited
- Structure of Solids Unlimited
- X-ray Diffraction Unlimited
- X-rays at Work: Laue Condition, Ewald Construction, Bragg’s Law, Powder Diffraction Unlimited
- From Diffraction to Structure Unlimited
- Symmetries and Tensors Unlimited
- Non-crystalline Materials Unlimited
- Polymers Part 2 Unlimited
- Glasses Unlimited
- Liquid Crystals Unlimited