The Influence of Solidification Techniques on the History of Material Culture

Norman E. Shank
Department of Natural Sciences, Messiah College, Grantham, PA 17027
J. Chem. Educ., 2000, 77 (9), p 1133
DOI: 10.1021/ed077p1133
Publication Date (Web): September 1, 2000
History, Education, and Documentation

Abstract

Most advances in material culture have occurred when people discover a new way to take some raw material from the natural environment, make it into a fluid for easy shaping, and then convert it into a rigid solid for durability and usefulness. The fluid-to-solid conversion is critical for this technology. In some cases it involves a physical change; in other cases a chemical change. When the change is physical, the solid material is easily returned to the fluid state for recycling. This article describes three methods of solidification that have major importance in the material culture of today. Each method is illustrated with a survey of the history and chemistry of two or three classes of materials commonly used for manufacture and construction.

Keywords (Audience):

General Public

Keywords (Domain):

History / Philosophy

Keywords (Feature):

Products of Chemistry

Keywords (Subject):

Materials Science
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  • Received: August 03, 2009

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