Thermodynamics and Kinetics in Materials Science

Author(s):  
Boris S. Bokstein ◽  
Mikhail I. Mendelev ◽  
David J. Srolovitz

This text presents a concise and thorough introduction to the main concepts and practical applications of thermodynamics and kinetics in materials science. It is designed with two types of uses in mind: firstly for one or two semester university course for mid- to - upper level undergraduate or first year graduate students in a materials-science-oriented discipline and secondly for individuals who want to study the materials on their own. The following major topics are discussed: basic laws of classical and irreversible thermodynamics, phase equilibria, theory of solutions, chemical reaction thermodynamics and kinetics, surface phenomena, stressed systems, diffusion and statistical thermodynamics. A large number of example problems with detailed solutions are included as well as accompanying computer-based self-tests, consisting of over 400 questions and 2000 answers with hints for students. Computer-based laboratories are provided, in which a laboratory problem is posed and the experiment described. The student can "perform" the experiments and change the laboratory conditions to obtain the data required for meeting the laboratory objective. Each "laboratory" is augmented with background material to aid analysis of the experimental results.

2006 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fei Yu ◽  
Jan Sullivan ◽  
Leith Woodall

Objective - This project sought to identify students’ strengths and weaknesses in locating, retrieving, and citing information in order to deliver information skills workshops more effectively. Methods - Bibliographies submitted from first-year engineering and second- and fourth-year chemical engineering students’ project reports were analysed for the number of items cited, the variety of items cited, and the correct use of citation style. The topics of the project reports were also reviewed to see the relationships between the topics and the items cited. Results - The results show that upper level students cited more items in total than did lower level students in their bibliographies. Second- and fourth-year engineering students cited more books and journal articles than first-year students cited. Web sites were used extensively by all three groups of students, and for some first-year students these were the most frequently used sources. Students from all three groups had difficulties with citation style. Conclusion - There was a clear difference in citation frequency between upper and lower level engineering students. Different strategies of information skills instruction are needed for different levels of students. Librarians and department faculty members need to include good quality Internet resources in their teaching and to change the emphasis from finding information to finding, interpreting, and citing accurately.


2006 ◽  
Vol 112 ◽  
pp. 39-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Szytuła

The work is a review paper concerning application of neutron diffraction methods for condensed matter investigations and for characterizing modern materials, namely for crystal and magnetic structures determination, small-angle scattering, investigations of chemical reactions and some practical applications. It addresses briefly a few of more prominent techniques that are important for materials scientists. In the first part of the work information on the methods and ways of interpretation of obtained results is given. Then the results for some chosen compounds are presented.


Molecules ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (11) ◽  
pp. 2835 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdulhadi Al-Omari ◽  
Zain Yamani ◽  
Ha Nguyen

CO2, emitted mainly from fossil fuel combustion, is one of the major greenhouse gases. CO2 could be converted into more valuable chemical feedstocks including CO, HCOOH, HCHO, CH3OH, or CH4. To reduce CO2, catalysts were designed and their unique characteristics were utilized based on types of reaction processes, including catalytic hydrogenation, complex metal hydrides, photocatalysis, biological reduction, and electrochemical reduction. Indeed, the electroreduction method has received much consideration lately due to the simple operation, as well as environmentally friendly procedures that need to be optimized by both of the catalysts and the electrochemical process. In the past few decades, we have witnessed an explosion in development in materials science—especially in regards to the porous crystalline materials based on the strong covalent bond of the organic linkers containing light elements (Covalent organic frameworks, COFs), as well as the hybrid materials that possess organic backbones and inorganic metal-oxo clusters (Metal-organic frameworks, MOFs). Owing to the large surface area and high active site density that belong to these tailorable structures, MOFs and COFs can be applied to many practical applications, such as gas storage and separation, drug release, sensing, and catalysis. Beyond those applications, which have been abundantly studied since the 1990s, CO2 reduction catalyzed by reticular and extended structures of MOFs or COFs has been more recently turned to the next step of state-of-the-art application. In this perspective, we highlight the achievement of homogeneous catalysts used for CO2 electrochemical conversion and contrast it with the advances in new porous catalyst-based reticular chemistry. We then discuss the role of new catalytic systems designed in light of reticular chemistry in the heterogeneous-catalyzed reduction of CO2.


2010 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 229-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. William Zartman

AbstractNegotiation is less taught than might be expected in International Relations (IR) programs. Yet an upper-level university course is needed to address three audiences: future citizens, diplomats, and scholars. Since there is no single theory of negotiations, such a course needs to address the various conceptual approaches, grouped as Behavioral, Processual, Integrative, Structural, and Strategic. Conceptual presentations need to be supplemented with practitioners’ testimonies, simulations, and case studies, the latter using participants’ accounts as well as analyses. Games and a sample syllabus are presented.


Author(s):  
William Bart

The purpose of this study was to explore how undergraduate university students react to chess instruction. Certain patterns emerged from 10 offerings of a Freshman Seminar entitled “Beginners’ Chess and 21st Century Thinking Skills”. The course enrolled only first-year and second-year undergraduate students at a large public state university in the USA. The students tended to have little or no knowledge of chess prior to the course. The course made extensive use of chess-related websites available on the Internet such as chess.com, lichess.org, and chessgames.com. The instruction involved the projection of a chess-related website projected onto a large classroom screen with the use of an instructor’s computer connected to a projector that projected the computer-based image onto the screen. The course had 10-20 students in each annual offering of the course that lasted 15 weeks. The student evaluations of the course were very positive, indicating that the students enjoyed the course very much. The course involved instruction in chess on topics such as tactics and basic checkmates along with instruction on the cognitive psychological foundations of chess on topics such as problem solving and critical thinking. The primary task in the course was that each student had to prepare a critical evaluation of two of their own chess games that included correct usage of proper algebraic notation for the chess moves. The chess activity that the students enjoyed the most was group competition.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vivien Challis ◽  
Roger Cook ◽  
Pranit Anand

This paper outlines an initiative that involved implementing ‘Numbas’ as a computer-based tool to support mathematics learning. ‘Numbas’ was implemented within the existing learning management system at Queensland University of Technology, where students engaged in formative assessment activities independently and were provided with automated feedback along the way. An initial evaluation was undertaken by learning designers using the ‘Assessment Design Decisions Framework’, and although more rigorous evaluation is underway, results indicate positive outcomes, and appropriate adjustment is likely to be made before rolling it out to other units within the School of Mathematical Sciences. This paper will be of interest to other educators looking for ways to embed independent computer-aided learning of mathematics.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 323-339
Author(s):  
Natalia Yevheniivna Dmitrenko ◽  
Iuliia Oleksiivna Budas

The present paper provides the results of the feedback influence on students’ autonomous ESP learning. It is aimed to study the impact of feedback on autonomous learning outcomes of first-year students, who are studying a two-year university course of “English for Specific Purposes (ESP)”, the significant part of which is dedicated to self-regulated learning. The aim of the course is to improve the students’ proficiency in professionally oriented English communication to the level of B2 according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). The investigation has proved the importance of teachers’ support in students’ autonomous ESP learning. The outcomes of those students who received the feedback regularly signify that even being self-sufficient, students strive for teachers’ or peer observation and feedback in the educational process. In the article, the interdependence between the level of students’ autonomous ESP learning competence and students’ feedback literacy is presented. The results of the study suggest that students’ autonomous ESP learning outcomes are considerably influenced by supportive external written feedback if it is sought, and their feedback literacy level is at least moderate or higher. A higher level of students’ feedback literacy is observed among students with a more advanced level of autonomous ESP learning competence and who demonstrate better academic achievements in professionally oriented English communication. The coherence of the elaborated levels of Ukrainian students’ feedback literacy and the ways of its enhancing can be significant for educators in other countries.


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