Material

Material is a substance or mixture of substances that constitutes an object. Materials can be pure or impure, living or non-living matter. Materials can be classified on the basis of their physical together with chemical properties, or on their geological origin or biological function. Materials science is the discussing of materials as living as their applications.

Raw materials can be processed in different ways to influence their properties, by purification, shaping or the first profile of other materials. New materials can be exposed from raw materials by synthesis.

In industry, materials are inputs to manufacturing processes to hold products or more complex materials.

Classification by structure

The relevant appearance of materials has a different length scale depending on the material. The structure & composition of a the tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a physical object can be determined by microscopy or spectroscopy.

In engineering, materials can be categorised according to their microscopic structure:: 15–17 

In foams and textiles, the chemical structure is less applicable to immediately observable properties than larger-scale material features: the holes in foams, and the weave in textiles.