Energy and materials were developed together in early civilizations, beyond the use of fire for cooling and heating. In the courtyard of the stepped pyramid at Sakahra, built near Cairo, Egypt, in about 2600 B.C.E., there are a series of carved relief panels in stone, showing that the ancient Egyptians had mastered the smelting and working of metals with heat energy (fire), as well as many other technical skills. Glass melting was discovered at least 10,000 years ago, and fired ceramics (pottery) even much earlier.

Solid materials are essential to the production and transmission of energy; in the next section gives examples of materials used in these processes. The article then focuses on the large energy requirements needed to produce the metals, ceramics, glasses, and electronic materials (silicon and germanium) that our technological civilization demands, and finishes with an overview of the environmental problems encountered in trying to...