Many readers of this preface are aware of the significant changes which occurred

in Materials Science and Materials Engineering within the decade preceding 1970.

Concurrent with the nucleation and growth of these new disciplines was the estab-

lishment of a course in Materials Science as one of the Engineering Sciences, not

only in this country but worldwide. With the changes just cited, it is necessary

that a materials science textbook for undergraduate engineering students draw as

much as possible upon the basic science background of those students--a back-

ground that commonly includes a working knowledge of calculus, an introduction

to structural chemistry, and an initial familiarity with the principles of electricity

in physics.

The starting point of the text which follows is the mathematics, chemistry, and

physics just described. This review, with an emphasis on those introductory

principles that specifically pertain to materials, is the content of the first three

chapters. Chapters 4 through 8 present the structures of solid phases with emphasis

on crystals, imperfections, molecular phases, and solid solutions. These chapters

provide a framework for considering, first, those properties which arise from the

atomic processes, such as diffusion and deformation (Chapters 6 through 12); and

second, those properties which originate from electrical processes (Chapters 13

through 16). The latter area is expanded and closely integrated with the preceding

topics of materials science. This close integration is a new venture for a second- or

third-year text and may place many instructors in a new teaching situation.

However, the author is confident that the long-term trend is in the direction taken

by this book, and that it is only a matter of time before all materials courses will

include such an arrangement. Following a more conventional presentation of

multiphase equilibria, reactions, and mierostructures (Chapters 17 through 19),

there is an expanded focus on materials utilization in Chapters 20 through 23.

Within this area, strengthening processes and materials failure receive separate

attention, and corrosion is viewed with a modern presentation. Materials systems,

including composites as well as bonding and induced stresses, constitute the

final topic.