Aristotle and Materials Science

Aristotle thinks of material (matter, stuff) as potentiality to become a certain kind of thing. A particular sort of entity is produced when it takes on a specific form. When this happens, the potentiality of the material to be that kind of thing is actualized. Different kinds of material can be characterized in terms of the range of types of things they can become. Wood can be made into a chair, but water (in its liquid form) cannot be. These days, materials science studies how the properties of different kinds of stuff suit it for various states, forms, and purposes.