Many advances have been made in composite technology over the
last few decades. Today, composites are used in industries
ranging from aerospace to consumer electronics, domestic
appliances and industrial machining, construction and
automotive, and marine and sports equipment. Composites, by
definition, are an engineered or naturally occurring combination
of two or more materials with notably different physical or
chemical properties that retain their own identity, in that they
are still distinguishable, and not fully blended after they are
bonded or cured. These combinations produce a new material that
features its own unique and superior characteristics. Man has
been making composites for centuries. One of the earliest noted
man-made composite materials included straw and mud combined to
form bricks for building construction. Composite materials take
advantage of the strengths and abilities of different materials.
In the example of straw and mud bricks, the mud is an
outstanding binding material, but on its