AGE HARDENING: A Major Pathway to the Coming of Materials Science
It has been said that the discovery of age hardening was a truly seminal event in the history of metallurgy and the march toward the discipline we now call materials science. Wilm’s somewhat accidental discovery in the period 1906-1911 in Germany occurred in a crucial historical context wherein metallurgy (physical) was transforming from a technical craft to an engineering and fundamental science. It must be appreciated that age hardening later to be identified as precipitation hardening was essentially the first new strengthening mechanism alongside alloying (solid solution hardening}, coldworking and quench hardening (steel) to be discovered since ancient times. In 2004 Professor I. Polmear suggested that “ if a poll were taken to decide the most important metallurgical development during the 20th century , it would be surprising if the discovery of age hardening by Dr. Alfred Wilm in Germany about 100 years ago was not the popular choice.”
In this paper we will discuss the technological and scientific history of this advance examining the basis of Professor Polmear’s assertion and show how this early excursion into nanoscience played a major role in the evolution of materials science.
William A. Soffa
Professor Emeritus/ University of Virginia
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
See more of: PSDK XV: Phase Stability and Diffusion Kinetics