Solid-state chemistry is the study of solid materials, which may be molecular. Solid-state chemistry studies both the synthesis, the structure and the physical properties of solids. It therefore has a strong overlap with solid-state physics, mineralogy, crystallography, ceramics, metallurgy, thermodynamics, materials science and electronics with a focus on the synthesis of novel materials. Mineralogy is an earth science that involves the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals. ... Crystallography (from the Greek words crystallon = cold drop / frozen drop, with its meaning extending to all solids with some degree of transparency, and graphein = write) is the experimental science of determining the arrangement of atoms in solids. ... The word ceramic is derived from the Greek word Κεραμεικος (the name of a suburb of Athens), and in its strictest sense refers to clay in all its forms. ... Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and of materials engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements and their mixtures, which are called alloys. ... Thermodynamics (Greek: thermos = heat and dynamic = change) is the physics of energy, heat, work, entropy and the spontaneity of processes. ... The Materials Science Tetrahedron Materials science is a multidisciplinary field focusing on functional solids, whether the function served is structural, electronic, thermal, chemical, magnetic, optical, or some combination of these. ... Electronics is the study and use of electrical devices that operate by controlling the flow of electrons or other electrically charged particles in devices such as thermionic valves and semiconductors. ...