Phase Equilibria Diagrams of One Component

It is troubling to witness technical devolution; it is a far too common occurrence in engineering and science. As we learn new techniques, we often ignore other equally useful approaches and in time forget how to employ them effectively. Excellent examples of this evv and flow are microstructural analysis and phase equilibria. These techniques coupled with x-ray powder diffraction (XRD) represented a powerful three pronged approach to solutions of many engineering and science problems. High temperature technologists routinely used these techniques to development new materials, solve processing issues, streamline production, reduce energy costs, and determine/solve performance problems. Although XRD is still widely used, the other two are utilized by fewer and fewer members of the materials community.