I am a Materials Girl

Category: History

The Titanic

I have a younger brother who is four years younger than me. He is interested in a variety of subjects, one of which being the sinking of the Titanic. I found this really interesting as well, as I am also a fan of the 1997 cinematic masterpiece: Titanic, directed by James Cameron. At 2:20am on April 15, 1912, the Titanic ship sank. Carrying 2,200 passengers and crew mates aboard, this massive ship hit an iceberg sitting just 100 feet above sea level. Just recently we were on a long car ride and had endless hours to pass when we stumbled across a podcast called: Materialism: A Materials Science Podcast, hosted by Taylor Sparks and Andrew Falkowski. Episode 42, What Really Sunk the Titanic?, goes further into detail about the reasons behind the ship’s sinking, which, of course, is something I was curious about learning.

This is a picture of the Titanic. Source: https://cdn.britannica.com/79/4679-050-BC127236/Titanic.jpg

The Metals

In 1912, metal had higher concentrations of certain elements than it does today, in 2022. When the Titanic was being built, the metal used had a higher concentration of sulfur, whereas today’s metal has a higher concentration of manganese (Falkowski and Sparks). This affects the brittle/ductile point of the metal. Brittle shows how breakable something is, and ductile shows its ability to bend. Today’s metals have a much lower point at which something goes from brittle to ductile because of the concentration of manganese. Manganese increases the ductility of metals, suggesting with less manganese, like the metals from 1912, the more brittle it is. This shows how if the metal of the Titanic had more manganese, it would have had a higher chance of withstanding the iceberg. If there was less sulfur, the Titanic would not have sunk, and so many lives would not have been lost. With that being said, we would not have the privilege of watching Cameron’s sensational film: Titanic. 

Source

Falkowski and Sparks, Andrew and Taylor. “What Really Sunk the Titanic?” Materialism: A Materials Science Podcast, Episode 42, 18 June 2021, materialismpodcast.com. 

Even though I did not take this picture, we did have the privilege of seeing this statue while we were in Paris.

The Venus de Milo

Paris is filled with various well known landmarks and artifacts, including the Arc de Triomphe, the Notre Dame Cathedral, and, of course, the Louvre. The Louvre, famously known for the Mona Lisa, the Winged Victory, and Aphrodite of Milos, is in the center of the beautiful city. Better known as the Venus de Milo, the statue represents Aphrodite, the goddess of love (“Venus de”). It stands 6 feet, 8 inches tall, absent of arms, in one of the most visited places in the Louvre (Richman-Abdou). The figure itself was carved around 150 BC, and was found on April 8, 1820 on the Aegean island of Melos (“Venus de”). Even though the sculpture was found in pieces, the material needed to be sturdy enough to last nearly two thousand years. The Venus de Milo is said to be built out of marble, but marble is a very brittle stone. With that being said, it is easy to carve but it is hard to believe the statue has lasted all these years. It was originally carved in two parts: the torso and the legs (“Venus de”). These two parts were then connected at the hips, hidden by drapery.

The Materials

The material used to build the structure, Parian marble, is similar to limestone. A largely known fact is that limestone is never a great material to use for building or foundation. What if the Venus de Milo was not built out of marble? Would we know what the arms were doing? When building sculptures, there are many other more sustainable materials to use. It is no surprise that metals are the best, most durable option to use when building a statue. The hardness and lack of corrosion of specifically stainless steel and bronze, are the best substances to use when creating a sculpture. Who knows? If the Venus de Milo was built out of steel, we might have the answers we are looking for. 

Source

Richman-Abdou, Kelly. “The Mysterious History of the Marble ‘Venus de Milo’ Statue.” My Modern Met. 20 May 2022, mymodernmet.com/venus-de-milo-statue/. Accessed 5 August 2022. 

“Venus de Milo.” Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2022, www.britannica.com/topic/Venus-de-Milo. Accessed 5 August 2022.