Materialism: A Materials Science Podcast

Have you ever watched a blacksmith work an old railroad tie into an elaborate metal trinket and wonder "How do they do that?" or "Why are doing it that way" or "What is the purpose of that step?" In this episode, we dive into the science behind those exact questions. We talk about metal deformation, heat treatments, fracture, different steel types, and wrap up the episode interviewing Alexander Wickstrom an undergraduate in the Materials Science & Engineering Department at the University of Utah who led his "Materials Advantage Student Chapter" in their recent TMS Bladesmithing Competition with a truly one of a kind Damascus steel rapier. Check out more of Alexander's work on Facebook This episode is sponsored by Matmatch. Check out how they can help you find the perfect material for your next engineering project! Thanks to Kolobyte and Alphabot for letting us use their music in the show! If you have questions or feedback please send us emails at materialism.podcast@gmail.com or connect with us on social media: Instagram, Twitter. Materialism Team: Taylor Sparks (co-host, co-creator), Andrew Falkowski (co-host, co-creator), Jared Duffy production, marketing, and editing), Ramsey Issa (editing assistance). Keywords: deformation metal iron steel blacksmithing processing Support Materialism: A Materials Science Podcast by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/materialism Find out more at https://materialism.pinecast.co

About half of the solid wastes produced each year end up in a landfill. A quarter gets recycled, 10% is composted, and the rest is burned. Why isn't more being recycled? Is this trend going to change? What will be the impact of China's new policy regarding impurities? This episode dives into recycling and we interview Dr. James Nagel of EDX Magnetics, a company with an innovative new tool for separating metals that could transform the recycling landscape. References For Further Reading: EDX Magnetics Website [LINK] How China’s Ban on Importing Waste Has Stalled Global Recycling [LINK] Getting to zero: the Japan town trying to recycle all its waste [LINK] Floating Frog [LINK] Thanks to listener Chris Sparks who pointed us to the "planned obselescence" wiki which talks about designing for failure in business. [LINK] This episode is sponsored by Matmatch. Check out how they can help you find the perfect material for your next engineering project! Thanks to Kolobyte and Alphabot for letting us use their music in the show! If you have questions or feedback please send us emails at materialism.podcast@gmail.com or connect with us on social media: Instagram, Twitter. Materialism Team: Taylor Sparks (co-host, co-creator), Andrew Falkowski (co-host, co-creator), Jared Duffy production, marketing, and editing), Ramsey Issa (editing assistance). Keywords: polymer plastic recycling magnetic magnetism metals electrodynamic sorting Support Materialism: A Materials Science Podcast by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/materialism Find out more at https://materialism.pinecast.co

A great empire demands an equally great building material. In this episode, we cover the development and implementation of cement and concrete throughout human history. We are joined by Marie Jackson, a research associate professor of geology and geophysics at the University of Utah, and an expert on Roman concrete. She explains how Romans were able to develop concrete and why Roman concrete is able to endure for thousands of years. Finally, we cover some new and exciting concrete technologies that are being developed including self-healing and self-cleaning materials. If you want to learn even more, consider reading Marie's blog about making Roman concrete from minerals found the Surtsey volcano [LINK] . Also consider reading her article on what makes Roman concrete so special [LINK] This episode is sponsored by Matmatch. Check out how they can help you find the perfect material for your next engineering project! Thanks to Kolobyte and Alphabot for letting us use their music in the show! If you have questions or feedback please send us emails at materialism.podcast@gmail.com or connect with us on social media: Instagram, Twitter. Materialism Team: Taylor Sparks (co-host, co-creator), Andrew Falkowski (co-host, co-creator), Jared Duffy production, marketing, and editing), Ramsey Issa (editing assistance). Keywords: cement concrete romans self-healing Support Materialism: A Materials Science Podcast by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/materialism Find out more at https://materialism.pinecast.co

The optical microscope was discovered in the 17th century and ever since has been a staple of scientific discovery. It uncovered germs and let humanity investigate the microscopic world. However, optical microscopes face a limit to their resolution since they rely on visible light. If materials scientists were going to ever probe atoms, grains, domains, and other features smaller than a few hundred nanometers, it would be necessary to fundamentally change the way we see matter. In this episode we talk about electron microscopes. Their history, how they work, and some of the incredible advantages and features they offer to scientists. There are some great papers out there we pulled from to make this episode. Like this one highlighting the key events in the History of Electron Microscopy [LINK] This episode is sponsored by Matmatch. Check out how they can help you find the perfect material for your next engineering project! Thanks to Kolobyte and Alphabot for letting us use their music in the show! If you have questions or feedback please send us emails at materialism.podcast@gmail.com or connect with us on social media: Instagram, Twitter. Materialism Team: Taylor Sparks (co-host, co-creator), Andrew Falkowski (co-host, co-creator), Jared Duffy production, marketing, and editing), Ramsey Issa (editing assistance). Keywords: SEM environmental scanning electron microscope characterization electrons Support Materialism: A Materials Science Podcast by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/materialism Find out more at https://materialism.pinecast.co

Imagine stepping on your favorite glasses and bending the frame horribly out of shape. Now imagine immersing these glasses in boiling water and seeing them snap back into their original shape with no evidence of ever being deformed. Shape memory alloys are as close to real-life science fiction materials as it gets! In this episode, we dive into what the materials are, their discovery, how they work, and lots of cool applications. Referenced Articles: Shape memory alloys: a state of art review [LINK] A review of shape memory alloy research, applications and opportunities [LINK] This episode is sponsored by Matmatch. Check out how they can help you find the perfect material for your next engineering project! Thanks to Kolobyte and Alphabot for letting us use their music in the show! If you have questions or feedback please send us emails at materialism.podcast@gmail.com or connect with us on social media: Instagram, Twitter. Materialism Team: Taylor Sparks (co-host, co-creator), Andrew Falkowski (co-host, co-creator), Jared Duffy production, marketing, and editing), Ramsey Issa (editing assistance). Keywords: shape memory alloys metals Support Materialism: A Materials Science Podcast by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/materialism Find out more at https://materialism.pinecast.co

Did you know that chocolate has a crystal structure? We all think of metals, ceramics, polymers, electronic materials, composites and so forth as materials. But what else? Is chocolate an engineering material? In this episode we dive into this amazing substance and describe the critical processing steps that makes it a unique including regional differences in cocoa, chocolate tempering and more. Along the way we'll cover the fundamental materials science topic of crystallization and solidification. Referenced Articles: Beckett's Industrial Chocolate Manufacture and Use, Fifth Edition [LINK] “Fat bloom in chocolate and compound coatings” by Lonchampt and Hartel [LINK]. Stuff Matters by Mark Miodownik [LINK] Harvard University has an excellent YouTube series on cooking science [LINK] This episode is sponsored by Matmatch. Check out how they can help you find the perfect material for your next engineering project! Thanks to Kolobyte and Alphabot for letting us use their music in the show! If you have questions or feedback please send us emails at materialism.podcast@gmail.com or connect with us on social media: Instagram, Twitter. Materialism Team: Taylor Sparks (co-host, co-creator), Andrew Falkowski (co-host, co-creator), Jared Duffy production, marketing, and editing), Ramsey Issa (editing assistance). Keywords: chocolate tempering processing phase crystal structures Support Materialism: A Materials Science Podcast by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/materialism Find out more at https://materialism.pinecast.co

Can you structure a company like a material? In this episode we cover the fascinating discovery of Gore-Tex, and the equally fascinating company that created it. First, we delve in the materials science that allows Gore-Tex to repel water, while remaining breathable. We then, discuss the unique, non-hierarchical structure of W.L. Gore and Associates that has allowed them to continuously innovate over the past 60 years. Referenced Articles: Innovation Democracy: W.L. Gore's Original Management Model, Scientists You Must Know: Robert Gore Thanks to Kolobyte and Alphabot for letting us use their music in the show! If you have questions or feedback please send us emails at materialism.podcast@gmail.com or connect with us on social media: Instagram, Twitter. Materialism Team: Taylor Sparks (co-host, co-creator), Andrew Falkowski (co-host, co-creator), Jared Duffy production, marketing, and editing), Ramsey Issa (editing assistance). Keywords: deformation DIC digital image correlation strain correlated solutions Support Materialism: A Materials Science Podcast by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/materialism Find out more at https://materialism.pinecast.co

What role do materials play in artificial organs? Are there materials that body simply won't accept? In this episode we talk about the birth of artificial organs as we describe the history of hemodialysis which is critical for treating chronic kidney disease. We introduce materials science fundamentals associated with mass transport across semi-permeable membranes such as Ficks First Law. We then tell the story of Willem Kolff and others who pioneered the invention of hemodialysis and describe the role that materials played in that process then as well as now. Referenced Articles: Overview on membranes Bowry, S. K. "Dialysis membranes today." "Reverse epidemiology of cardiovascular risk factors in maintenance dialysis patients." Impact of protein energy wasting: Bonanni et al. 2011 Protein loss vs flux of treatment: Gil et al. 2007 Altering fluid transport to retain proteins: Meyer et al. 2004 Am. Soc. Neph. Personal account of doctor turned patient: Laird et al. 2011 Am J Kidney Dis. 2011 Protein replacement treatment effectiveness: Hynote et al. 1995 J Parenter Enteral Nutr. Membrane adsorption of proteins: Ishikawa et al. 2006 Am J Nephrol. Current PVC tubing used in dialyzers: Chawla et al. 1991 Image taken from Wikimedia Commons with filters applied in Adobe Illustrator. Thanks to Kolobyte and Alphabot for letting us use their music in the show! If you have questions or feedback please send us emails at materialism.podcast@gmail.com or connect with us on social media: Instagram, Twitter. Materialism Team: Taylor Sparks (co-host, co-creator), Andrew Falkowski (co-host, co-creator), Jared Duffy production, marketing, and editing), Ramsey Issa (editing assistance). Keywords: polymers biomedical bio diffusion filter biocompatibility Support Materialism: A Materials Science Podcast by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/materialism Find out more at https://materialism.pinecast.co

In this episode we cover the history and development of crystallography, the study of the structures that make up the materials around us. The history of this field is filled with accidental discoveries, ingenious inventions, and drama between those who study it. One of the most important discoveries to come out of this field is x-ray diffraction. This important characterization technique allowed scientists to delve deeper into crystal structures than ever before. We discuss new advances in x-ray diffraction with Ben Frandsen, an assistant professor of physics at Brigham Young University. Ben utilizes x-ray and neutron diffraction techniques to study super conductors and magnets. We only scratch the surface of the fascinating history of crystallography in this episode. If you want to learn even more, check out Nature's Milestones in Crystallography. Thanks to Kolobyte and Alphabot for letting us use their music in the show! If you have questions or feedback please send us emails at materialism.podcast@gmail.com or connect with us on social media: Instagram, Twitter. Materialism Team: Taylor Sparks (co-host, co-creator), Andrew Falkowski (co-host, co-creator), Jared Duffy production, marketing, and editing), Ramsey Issa (editing assistance). Keywords: XRD x-ray diffraction characterization structure crystallography Find out more at https://materialism.pinecast.co

In this episode we talk about thermoelectrics, which are materials that can convert heat into electricity or vice versa. Since their inception almost 200 years ago there have been major advances in thermoelectric efficiency and they have found their way into some amazing applications such as NASA’s deep space probes or the Mars rover Curiosity. For the latter half of the 20th century, thermoelectric materials research was relatively stagnant with little improvement in materials. However, in the last two decades there has been a resurgence of interest in these materials and efficiencies have doubled. For this episode we talk about these recent advances with Paul Slusser who founded Power Practical, a company that commercialized a camping stove with a built-in thermoelectric generator. We describe some of the techniques that have been employed to create this efficiency gains and ask whether or not these materials are likely to make it out of the laboratory and into the market. Referenced Articles: Northwestern Thermoelectrics Research Group [LINK] New and Old Concepts in Thermoelectric Materials [LINK] The panoscopic approach to high performance thermoelectrics [LINK] Complex thermoelectric materials [LINK] Thanks to Kolobyte and Alphabot for letting us use their music in the show! If you have questions or feedback please send us emails at materialism.podcast@gmail.com or connect with us on social media: Instagram, Twitter. Materialism Team: Taylor Sparks (co-host, co-creator), Andrew Falkowski (co-host, co-creator), Jared Duffy production, marketing, and editing), Ramsey Issa (editing assistance). Keywords: thermoelectric ceramics energy thermal heat Support Materialism: A Materials Science Podcast by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/materialism Find out more at https://materialism.pinecast.co