engineering

Nature Materials

Nature Materials is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Nature Materials rather than just read about it. In short: Nature Materials is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Nature Portfolio. It was launched in September 2002.

Key takeaways

Nature Materials belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Nature Materials to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Nature Materials from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Nature Materials is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Nature Portfolio. It was launched in September 2002. Vincent Dusastre is the launching and current chief editor.

Aims and scope Nature Materials is focused on all topics within the combined disciplines of materials science and engineering. Topics published in the journal are presented from the view of the impact that materials research has on other scientific disciplines such as (for example) physics, chemistry, and biology. Coverage in this journal encompasses fundamental research and applications from synthesis to processing, and from structure to composition. Coverage also includes basic research and applications of properties and performance of materials. Materials are specifically described as "substances in the condensed states (liquid, solid, colloidal)", and which are "designed or manipulated for technological ends." Furthermore, Nature Materials functions as a forum for the materials scientist community. Interdisciplinary research results are published, obtained from across all areas of materials research, and between scientists involved in the different disciplines. The readership for this journal are scientists, in both academia and industry involved in either developing materials or working with materials-related concepts. Finally, Nature Materials perceives materials research as significantly influential on the development of society.

Coverage Research areas covered in the journal include:

Engineering and structural materials (metals, alloys, ceramics, composites) Organic and soft materials (glasses, colloids, liquid crystals, polymers) Bio-inspired, biomedical and biomolecular materials Optical, photonic and optoelectronic materials Magnetic materials Materials for electronics Superconducting materials Catalytic and separation materials Materials for energy Nanoscale materials and processes Computation, modelling and materials theory Surfaces and thin films Design, synthesis, processing and characterization techniques In addition to primary research, Nature Materials also publishes review articles, news and views, research highlights about important papers published in other journals, commentaries, correspondence, interviews and analysis of the broad field of materials science.

Abstracting and indexing Nature Materials is indexed in the following databases:

Chemical Abstracts Service – CASSI Science Citation Index Science Citation Index Expanded Current Contents – Physical, Chemical & Earth Sciences BIOSIS Previews

References

External links Nature Materials Nature Materials editors

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Nature Materials

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Nature Materials claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Nature Materials before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Nature Materials ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Nature Materials

In research: Nature Materials appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Nature Materials in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Nature Materials is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Academic journals established in 2002, English-language journals, Materials science journals, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Nature Materials outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Nature Materials in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Nature Materials means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Nature Materials out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Nature Materials in simple terms?

Nature Materials is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Nature Portfolio. It was launched in September 2002.

Why does Nature Materials matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Nature Materials?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Nature Materials.