Metals, ceramics and polymers may be characterised using a number of techniques, and some of these will be explored in this unit. The techniques can be broadly split into direct (imaging, chemical analysis) and indirect (scattering) techniques. The principles underlying techniques such as x-ray diffractometry, electron microscopy, photoelectron or mass spectroscopy and gel permeation chromatography are explained. Students will investigate the design of experiments, testing for relationships among variables and curve fitting. Models will be related to the characterization techniques studied by the application of appropriate models to real data. -- Course Website
Instructor: Dr Nikhil Medhekar
Prerequisites: MSC2011 or MTE2541 or PHS2011