- Material is a broad term for a chemical substance or mixture of substances that constitute an object.
- Materials can be natural, such as wood, stone, and metals, or synthetic, such as polymers and ceramics.
- The properties of a material depend on its structure at different length scales, from atomic to macroscopic scales.
- Materials can be classified based on their physical and chemical properties such as mechanical, thermal, electrical, and magnetic properties.
- Materials are studied in materials science, which is a branch of engineering that focuses on the structure, properties, and processing of materials.