Selection, processing, and engineering performance of materials. Chemical identity belongs in Chemistry; natural mineral identification belongs in Geology.
Test your knowledge with these top questions!
Corrugated cardboard is usually made from fibers originally taken from which material?
Softwood trees such as pine supply long fibers that help packaging paper resist tearing.
On a corrugated box, what does an ECT rating help predict?
ECT means edge crush test, which measures how much force a small upright piece of cardboard can bear before buckling.
An 1856 patent used corrugated paper as a lining for which item of clothing?
Flat liners were added later, turning flexible corrugated paper into the stiff board used for shipping boxes.
Corrugated cardboard is most commonly used for which type of packaging?
Many empty shipping boxes travel flat to the packing site, so a truck can carry more before the boxes are assembled.
Which car window is usually made of laminated glass rather than tempered glass?
A windshield's laminated glass hides a plastic layer between two glass sheets, keeping cracked pieces in place instead of showering the seats.
Which New York skyscraper is crowned by seven radiating arches clad in stainless steel?
The 1930 tower's stainless crown was among the first large uses of the metal in architecture, chosen because it would stay gleaming.
What makes a Prince Rupert's drop explode into tiny fragments?
The bulb shrugs off hammer blows, but a crack in the thin tail releases the locked-in stress and shatters the whole drop.
The kitchen stainless grade 18/8 is named for its percentages of which two metals?
The 18/8 recipe is the same as grade 304, the world's most widely used stainless steel, found in sinks and brewing tanks.
At what stage should holes be cut in a piece of tempered glass?
Cutting or drilling through the surface stress of tempered glass releases it all at once, so the whole panel crumbles.
Which element makes grade 316 stainless steel more resistant to salt water?
Grade 316 stainless steel carries about 2 to 3 percent molybdenum, which is why it lines boat fittings and coastal railings.