CORE185 Materials and mankind

Faculty of Science
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
2/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
doc. Mgr. Pavel Souček, Ph.D. (lecturer)
prof. Mgr. Petr Vašina, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
prof. Mgr. Petr Vašina, Ph.D.
Department of Plasma Physics and Technology – Physics Section – Faculty of Science
Contact Person: RNDr. Pavel Lízal, Ph.D.
Supplier department: Department of Plasma Physics and Technology – Physics Section – Faculty of Science
Prerequisites (in Czech)
!TYP_STUDIA(ND) && !FORMA(C) && (!PROGRAM(B-UCB) && !PROGRAM(B-UCC) && !PROGRAM(B-UCF) && !PROGRAM(B-UCM) && !PROGRAM(B-UCZ) && !PROGRAM(B-LGM) && !PROGRAM(B-FYZ) && !PROGRAM(B-NAN))
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is offered to students of any study field.
The capacity limit for the course is 100 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/100, only registered: 8/100, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/100
Course objectives
Every person is surrounded by various materials in everyday life, whether natural or manufactured. The aim of the course is to acquaint students with the laws governing the world of materials. This will be done in an accessible form requiring only basic knowledge from high school. The reasoning and key scientific experiments that pointed to the atomic nature of matter will be explained. We will discuss the relationship between the structure and properties of materials. The three types of bonds correspond to three basic classes of materials - metals, ceramics, polymers. Composites are created by combining these materials. Many examples will be used to show what materials used man from ancient times to modern society. We will focus on amazing materials developed by mother nature through evolution, or prepared by man using modern manufacturing processes and nanotechnologies. Examples of classic and modern materials from the construction industry, medicine, sports, automotive, aviation industry, etc. will be shown.
Learning outcomes
After completing the course, the student will gain a basic insight into the world of materials science and understand the structure and properties of the materials with which he is normally surrounded.
Syllabus
  • 1. Is matter really made of atoms? Key natural science experiments and considerations that supported the particle nature of matter.
  • 2. What holds atoms together? A simple and functional model of chemical bonding.
  • 3. Three types of bonds, three categories of materials. Metallic, covalent, ionic bonding – metals, polymers, ceramics. Composite materials.
  • 4. Why does nature like to organize atoms into ordered structures? Crystals - their basic types - examples from nature.
  • 5. Why exactly do imperfections make crystalline substances interesting and unique? Basic types of imperfections and the effect of imperfections on the resulting properties of materials.
  • 6. How small changes fundamentally change the properties of materials - how to create hard and tough structural materials for building bridges, how to control conductivity in semiconductors for microelectronics and other examples.
  • 7. Mother Nature's unusual materials - wood, bone, teeth, shells, beetle shells and others.
  • 8. Materials developed by man over time - materials from ancient times to modern society.
  • 9. Ubiquitous man-made materials – steel, concrete, paper, porcelain, plastic and more.
  • 10. Current challenges for modern materials - automotive industry, aerospace, microelectronics, medicine, etc.
  • 11. Materials and nanotechnology – materials for the future.
Teaching methods
Lectures.
Assessment methods
Colloquium - guided discussion with students about course topics
Language of instruction
Czech
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
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