Many activities and resources are devoted to keeping the objects of our material existence in good order and, then, to disposing of them once their usefulness has finished. We regularly clean clothing, dishes, and our living & working spaces. When appliances break down, we our hired technicians to find and fix the causes. Homes, buildings, vehicles, and industrial machinery need a wide variety of maintenance for upkeep and repair. Some items – perhaps too many – are designed for limited use and then discarded. Other items might be sent to surplus outlets for re-use or dismantled so that their materials can be recycled. One way or another – either by recycling or disposal – the materials that we use go through a life cycle. Physics is deeply involved in understanding this life cycle and in managing its consequences. At the deepest level, the inexorable influences of the second law of thermodynamics work to bring about decay of the purified and organized materials that we employ. More immediately, objects may fail in use due to damage or defects. Physics can model how things decay or fail and such models can be used to anticipate, prevent, detect, or mitigate degradation and failure. Physics can be used to develop durable and re-useable components and products, guide more sustainable choices of materials, and provide methods of protection against corrosion, contamination, and other adverse environmental effects. Physical & chemical processes can be designed to collect, sort, and process an increasing fraction of recycled materials. And finally, physics can be used to minimize environmental disruption when we choose to permanently discard materials.
Design issues
Design for sustainability
Design for maintainability
Maintenance and reliability engineering
Friction and wear
Lubrication
Corrosion analysis and prevention; biodegradation
Fracture and fatigue
Failure analysis; failure physics; forensic engineering
Monitoring and diagnostics to prevent failure
Nondestructive evaluation
Common repair categories
Home
Auto & motorbike
Bicycle
Appliance
Sew/Vac
Clocks and watches
Camera
Furniture / upholstery
Dry cleaners / clothing repair
Publishing of home & auto repair guides
Hardware stores
Repair aides
Adhesives
Tapes
Composite fillers
Paints and coatings
Replacement parts manufacturers, distributers, and retailers
Home repair services
Electricians
Appliance technicians
Plumbers
Heating, ventilating, air conditioning (HVAC) technicians
Roofing
Fireplace and chimney sweeps
Cleaning supplies and equipment
Cleaning services
Home
Laundry
Office
School
Hospital
Auto
Public event
Specialty (e.g. crime scene)
Vehicle maintenance
Equipment maintenance
Office equipment (especially photocopiers)
Computers
Laboratory equipment
Production machinery maintenance
Upcycling / downcycling / repurposing of spent materials and objects
Sales of recycled goods
Goodwill/ARC/Salvation Army thrift stores
Garage sales
Flea markets
E-bay
Craigslist
Recycling services
Metals
Electronics
Mixed materials sorting
Clothing
Organic materials
Sorting recycled materials
Magnetic
Flotation
Biodegradable materials
Composting
Junk collectors
Junk collection services
Homeless collectors
Trash collection and disposal
Landfills
Incinerators
Plasma incinerators
Solar?
Ocean dumping
Sewage systems
Wastewater treatment
Hazmat disposal
Consumer toxic wastes
Industrial toxic wastes
Asbestos removal
Contaminated site cleanup
Ocean spill cleanup
Lake & river cleanup
Soil cleanup
Toxic material detection
Animal waste cleanup