Page 338 - AWSAR 2.0

314 || AWSAR Awarded Popular Science Stories - 2019
Anisotropy and Inhomogeneity hidden Potential of Engineering Materials
Mr. Nishant Shakya*
Email: nishant.shakya@iitrpr.ac.in
Engineering materials have a vital role in the development of human civilization. Its development is majorly divided into three
time periods: Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age. These divisions are based on the materials used by humans to make tools, weapons, and other articles during that time period. Civilization development changes the needs of humans. They require faster transportation to save time, improved machinery and tools for farming, and comfortable clothing and housing. To fulfill these needs, different materials are required, as the same material cannot be used for every purpose. Earlier, humans depended on the materials which are naturally available. But these materials are not adequate for every application, so humans started to process them to get the desired
property in it. In today’s world, a wide range of engineering materials are available, such as metals and its alloys, polymers, ceramics and composites.
The performance, design, weight, and size of any structure or device depends on the materials and technology used to fabricate them. This fact can be understood by taking some examples. First, take computer as an example. First-generation computers were based on the vacuum tubes. They were huge, and weighed 30 tonnes, also were much less efficient. The discovery of the semiconductor material brought a huge change to the first-generation computers. In the second generation, computer transistors (semiconductor device) replaced vacuum tubes. This change made the computers much
* Mr. Nishant Shakya, PhD Scholar from Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar, is pursuing his research on “Non- Linear Coupling Behavior of Anisotropic and Inhomogeneous Beams and Plates”. His popular science story entitled “Anisotropy and Inhomogeneity hidden Potential of Engineering Materials” has been selected for AWSAR Award.