Material
From Free net encyclopedia
- This article is about physical matter, for the rock music band, see Material (band).
Materials are physical substances used as inputs to production or manufacturing. "Raw materials" are first extracted or harvested from the earth and divided into a form that can be easily transported and stored, then processed to produce "semi-finished materials". These can be input into a new cycle of production and "finishing processes to create "finished materials", ready for distribution and consumption.
An example of a raw material is cotton, which can be processed into thread, and then processed into cloth, a semi-finished material. Sewing and cutting the fabric turns it into a garment, which is a finished material. Steelmaking is another example—raw materials are extracted, refined and proccessed into steel, a semi-finished material. Steel is then used as an input in many other industries to make finished products.
See also
- Natural resource
- Commodity
- Biomaterial
- Materials science
- Materiel
- List of building materials
- Post-industrial society
- History of science and technology
- Technologyda:Materiale
de:Material es:Material eo:Materialo fr:Matériau gl:Material id:Material nl:Materiaal ja:材料 no:Materiale pl:Materiał pt:Material simple:Material sl:Material fi:Materiaali sv:Material vi:Vật liệu zh:材料