Product Description

Building on the extraordinary success of six best-selling editions, Bill Callister's new Seventh Edition of MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING: AN INTRODUCTION continues to promote student understanding of the three primary types of materials (metals, ceramics, and polymers) and composites, as well as the relationships that exist between the structural elements of materials and their properties.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19874 in Books
• Published on: 2006-02-17
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 832 pages

Review
Solutions Manual, Transparencies and Interactive Simulation Software Package available. -- The publisher, John Wiley & Sons

From the Publisher
The latest edition of this bestselling textbook treats the important properties of three primary types of material--metals, ceramics, polymers--as well as composites. Describes the relationships that exist between the structural elements of these materials and their characteristics. Emphasizes mechanical behavior and failure along with techniques used to improve the mechanical and failure properties in terms of alteration of structural elements. Individual chapters discuss each of the corrosion, electrical, thermal, magnetic, and optical properties plus economic, environmental, and societal issues. Features a design component which includes design examples, case studies, and design type problems and questions.

From the Back Cover
The leading source for learning materials science and engineering

Bill Callister’s text is the number one choice for learning materials science and engineering. Why?  Because it delivers lucid explanations, thorough and up-to-date coverage, and outstanding art and learning resources. Now revised, this 7th Edition continues to promote student understanding of the three primary types of materials (metals, ceramics, and polymers) and composites, as well as the relationships between the structural elements of materials and their properties.

New to the Seventh Edition

• A number of new “Materials of Importance” pieces (for most chapters).
• Concept Check questions throughout.
• Revised illustrations, now all in full-color to enhance visualization and convey realism.
• Expanded discussions on material types and general properties of materials (Chapter 1), and crystallographic directions and planes in hexagonal crystals (Chapter 3).
• New discussions on one-component (pressure-temperature) phase diagrams, compacted graphite iron, lost foam casting, fractography of ceramics, and magnetic anisotropy.
• Enhanced discussions on representations of polymer structures and defects in polymers, and a new discussion on permeability in polymers.
• Revised coverage of deformation of semicrystalline polymers and polymerization.

Online Animations and Learning Modules

The book companion site (www.wiley.com/college/callister) features learning modules with animations and 3-D projections that help students visualize challenging concepts and processes.  The website also includes an interactive database of materials properties and costs.

Customer Reviews

If you're interested in this topic, this is the 1st choice!
This is a terrific book on the subject of Materials Science.
This is the sort of book more engineers should read, as they lack knowledge in this department. It covers metals, ceramics, plastics and composites as well as briefly covering other materials such as semiconductors. It talks about fabrication processes, microstructures as well as the properties of typical materials - for example with metal alloys, casting, forging etc are discussed as well as phase diagrams.

The last section discusses the application of various materials for use in several different parts. In the edition I have, they are automobile valve springs, an artificial femoral component, and space shuttle tiles, as well as the strength-weight optimisation of various beams. It goes into each aspect of the design, for example how many stress cycles the valve will undergo in the typical lifetime, and give a specific failure rate. Quite interesting.

There are also sections on thermal properties, electrical properties, atomic lattices, and more... I can't remember, it's been a while since I last looked through it properly. In summary, this book is packed with sufficient information to give you general knowledge of each field covered and get you interested, without going overboard -something that most university textbooks tend to do.

Okay, not great
Materials by Callister is a detailed, yet verbose book. I used it as a textbook for a 1st year Materials course at university, and while the book contains a lot of detail, most of it is contained within great slabs of written language, often without the aid of diagrams.

This may be fine for senior undergraduate or postgraduate students, but for beginner students it simply isn't the way to teach a subject. My suggestions for future editions would be to tone down the language to a more basic level, and to include more diagrams to aid the student in conceptualisation.

An excellent sophomore text
I purchased this book for a course in materials science. The course was structured as an independent study. I was responsible for studying the materials and I would take quizzes through e-mail. This book was my primary source of instruction for the course. Where the book could not support me in the quizzes, it was necessary to seek information elsewhere. My judgement of this book, therefore, is based on its thoroughness, mathematical rigorousness and its ability to explain concepts. Most of the topics covered in the course were well presented by the book. In particular, chapter 3, on the Structure of Crystalline Solids, was very well done. In general the writing style is good. The use of many figures and diagrams enhanced the explanations of physical phenomenon. I highly recommend it for an intuitive viewpoint into material science. Where the book falls down is in the realm of calculation. There are too few formula given. Where they are given, there are too few examples on their use. Chapter 6 on the Mechanical Properties of Metals, and chapter 9 on Phase Diagrams, are sections that failed in this regard. However, the books lack of over-reliance on formula and mathematics is a great enhancement for those just beginning an exploration of the science or a career in engineering. Too many numbers on a page would be a discouragement to those wishing to enjoy the material. Therefore, I would recommend this book as a sophomore level introduction to Material Science, for which, in fact, it has been written.