The encyclopedia and handbook represents an update of existing materials, parts, finishes (coatings), 

systems, and processes and includes new materials that have been invented or changed or modified

 either by new processes or by additions or innovative techniques—the book covers basic materials

 from “A” to “Z.”
This encyclopedia is the culmination of over 70 years of various encyclopedias and material handbooks.

 With the advent of a steady increase in the number of materials and processes being developed over

 these past years, it is hoped that a one-volume encyclopedia would intelligently describe the important characteristics of commercially available materials without going into the details—an encyclopedia/

 handbook that would meet the job needs of managers and executives, purchasing and manufacturing 

managers, supervisors, engineers, metallurgists, chemists, students, technologists, teachers, and others.

The encyclopedia reflects the phenomenal proliferation in the number and variety of materials,

 processes, parts, coatings, and systems. More than 16,000 different materials are described.

 Despite this manifold increase over the years, it is virtually impossible to include all commercially 

available materials in a one-volume work of this kind. Nevertheless, the most important and most

 widely used of the thousands of
materials introduced every year are included in this updated edition.

The diverse technologies that make up the field of materials and structures are at varying stages of commercialization. For example, piezoelectric and electrostrictive ceramics, piezoelectric polymers, 

and fiber-optic sensor systems are well-established commercial technologies, whereas

 microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), magnetostrictive materials, shape memory alloys (SMA) 

and polymers, conductive polymers, engineering-grade thermoplastics, nanomaterials, additive

 manufacturing (AM), and static-dissipative ABS plastics are, in some cases, in their developmental 

stages of commercialization.

There has been a tremendous increase in the variety of materials and processes, especially in the 

medical field, coupled with the rise of new and more severe service requirements, rigid testing, and 

qualification requirements, as well as a demand for lower cost. This has brought about many changes

 in the way these materials are utilized. Traditionally, users fit the design of a product to the properties 

of the material it was made of. This attitude has changed. The major concern now is finding and 

applying a material or materials with the right combination of properties to meet design and service 

conditions. Today, material selection is a complex process that operates throughout the entire span of a

 product’s evolution. Thus, the new attitude is end-service oriented. The next logical step, of course,

 is tailor-made materials.

Analytical procedures have been developed to deal with the complex interaction between requirements

 and performance properties. And materials engineering departments and specialists who devote their

 full time to material selection problems are now a common adjunct to engineering or manufacturing 

departments.

As we will see, scientists, researchers, and technologists no longer accept the atomic arrangements 

nature gives us. Such is the case with, for example, high polymers, aggregates of giant, chain-like

 molecules. High polymers that nature gives us, such as wood, leather, and glue, have been used

 in engineering materials for centuries. But only during the past couple of decades have we acquired 

sufficient understanding of their molecular structure to improve upon nature. Now, by varying the 

chain length and degree of branching or crosslinking, materials can be produced with combinations

 of properties to meet specific application requirements. The past century was dominated by the

 influence of emerging materials that were shaped and transformed into new mass-produced products

 that defined the twentieth century. Plastics, composites, aluminum, and advanced ceramics facilitated innovations that influenced culture and let us form products and machinery that made our lives easie

 —brightly colored plastics that pushed through labor-saving devices, materials engineered to make 

cars more comfortable, and touchscreen interactivity that simplified complex technology.

The next phase of material innovation is going to be a little more subtle and inconspicuous—not driven

 by materials and products that we can see, but rather by materials whose performance is more under

 the radar. These innovations are likely to manifest themselves through materials that intuitively make 

decisions for us. There is an increasing number of materials being developed as a response to how we 

live now and how we will live in the future. These new materials are often incorporating

 nanotechnology in some way to enhance performance or adapt, over time, to sensors and with the

 intention of improving our day-to-day life. Some materials that encompass this area are as follows:

• Nanocoated fabric, which repels stains
• Phase-change fabric
• Noise-absorbing material
• Self-healing plastic film
• Biodegradable additive for plastics
• Mineral plaster, which removes odor
• Foam crash mats, which keep you safe on the slopes

With regard to alloy names—metals, plastics, ceramics, and other material types—the choice between 

inclusion and exclusion is inevitably arbitrary. At one extreme, it would be ridiculous to offer an 

encyclopedia that excluded terms such as brass and solder or even admiralty brass or sterling silver. 

At the other extreme, it would be impossible, even assuming if it was desirable, to include all of the 

immense number of names introduced, and often discarded, at the whim generic names, such as those

 mentioned here, together with a small number of trade or proprietary names, such as Dural and

 Nimonic, that are commonly used.

The aim of this book is to reflect the broadest usage of materials and processing technology that is 

current, and, furthermore, limited reference will be made to some terms once popular, but now fallen

 from favor. Consequently, a very large number of books, reports, and papers, and even conversations,

 have been absorbed in an attempt to provide a consensus and comprehensive view. Thus, rather than

 attempting the invidious task of identifying individual sources or influences, I prefer to offer thankful

 knowledge with gratitude to the many material engineers, metallurgists, technologists, scientists, 

chemists, and others whose work has directly or indirectly been utilized or described in this 

encyclopedia.

Mel Schwartz