Edited by
R.W. Cahn, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
Description
The Coming of Materials Science both covers the discipline of materials science, and draws an impressionistic map of the present state
of the subject.
The first chapter examines the emergence of the materials science concept, in both academe and industry. The second
and third chapters delve back into the prehistory of materials science, examining the growth of such concepts as atoms, crystals and
thermodynamics, and also examine the evolution of a number of neighbouring disciplines, to see what helpful parallels might emerge.
The book contains numerous literature references. Many refer to the earliest key papers and books, while others are to sources,
often books, offering a view of the present state of a topic. Early references are to the past but as the book continues, it brings
the reader up to date with more recent sources.
The author, Professor Robert Cahn FRS, has striven to be critical about the history
of the discipline of materials science and to draw general conclusions about scientific practice from what he has discovered about the
evolution of materials science. Further issues that the book highlights include: What is a scientific discipline? How do disciplines
merge and differentiate? Can a discipline also be interdisciplinary? Is materials science a real discipline? A large range of themes
is presented in the book and readers are invited to interact with the author if they reach alternative conclusions. This book is not
just for reading and reference, but exists to stimulate thought and provoke discussion as well.
Included in series
Pergamon Materials Series
Audience:
For Materials Scientists working in all areas of this subject requiring a book which provides a history of their field.
