Historical background of materials

The Stone Age (pre-2500 BC)Hard/brittle materials used to make earthenware, tools and weapons.

Stone Age toolsOne of the most important advancements in human history was the development and use of tools. Tools allowed hominids to become the masters of their environments, to hunt, to build, and to perform important tasks that made life easier for them. The first tools were made out of stone. Thus, historians refer to the period of time before written history as the stone age.

Bronze Age hutThe Bronze Age ( 2500 BC to 500 BC)

Bronze Age toolsHard, tough material that is quite malleable.

Iron Age hutThe Iron Age ( 500 BC to 1850 AD)

Iron Age toolsThese are hard, tough, ductile and cheap. They were used to make sophisticated tools, bridges, ships etc.

Ironbridge in ShropshireThe world's first cast iron bridge was built over the River Severn at Coalbrookdale in 1779. Not only iron founders and industrial spies flocked to see this wondrous bridge, but also artists and travellers. The Bridge had a far reaching impact: on local society and the economy, on bridge design and on the use of cast iron in building. The story of the bridge's conservation begins in 1784 with reports of cracks in the Southern abutments, and is brought up to date with the English Heritage sponsored work of 1999.

Old Severn bridge19th Century: steel (an alloy of iron) became available. This had increased strength and lower brittleness. This allowed larger structures to be made.

Carbon fibre used to make parts for some cars! 20th Century: composite materials (synthetic) and plastics became available, which provided greater strength and flexibility together with a low density. These proved to be particularly useful in the aircraft and civil engineering industries.

Molecular machineFuture trends: high temperature superconductors; nanotechnology, which enables new materials to be synthesised at a molecular and atomic level; advanced materials for electronic and photonic devices (e.g. optical computing) etc.

Acknowledgements• Slide 2:

http://www.creswell-crags.org.uk/virtuallytheiceage/Stone%20Age%20People/Assets/Cave_image.jpg• Slide 3: http://www.kidspast.com/images/stone-age.jpg• Slide 4: http://www.infobritain.co.uk/Bronze_Age_Hut.jpg• Slide 5: http://www.sindelarmuseum.com/images/sindr3_0600001.jpg• Slide 6: http://www.infobritain.co.uk/Flag_Fen_Iron_Age_Hut.jpg• Slide 7: http://www.huntingdonshire.info/history/images/Plate_II.png• Slide 8: http://cache.virtualtourist.com/654750-The_Iron_Bridge_in_Iron_Bridge-Ironbridge.jpg• Slide 9: http://www.freefoto.com/images/42/12/42_12_3---The-Old-Severn-Bridge_web.jpg• Slide 10: http://www.vicky.in/straightfrmtheheart/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/fer2007.jpg• Slide 11: http://www.anthonares.net/molecular_machine.jpg

• PowerPoint slides compiled by John Mascall of The King’s School, Ely