A ceramic is an inorganic non-metallic solid made up of either metal or non-metal compounds that have been shaped and then hardened by heating to high temperatures. In general, they are hard, corrosion-resistant and brittle.
'Ceramic' comes from the Greek word meaning &#;pottery&#;. The clay-based domestic wares, art objects and building products are familiar to us all, but pottery is just one part of the ceramic world.
Nowadays the term &#;ceramic&#; has a more expansive meaning and includes materials like glass, advanced ceramics and some cement systems as well.
Pottery is one of the oldest human technologies. Fragments of clay pottery found recently in Hunan Province in China have been carbon dated to 17,500&#;18,300 years old.
The major types of pottery are described as earthenware, stoneware and porcelain.
Earthenware is used extensively for pottery tableware and decorative objects. It is one of the oldest materials used in pottery.
The clay is fired at relatively low temperatures (1,000&#;1,150°C), producing a slightly porous, coarse product. To overcome its porosity, the fired object is covered with finely ground glass powder suspended in water (glaze) and is then fired a second time. Faience, Delft and majolica are examples of earthenware.
Stoneware clay is fired at a high temperature (about 1,200°C) until made glass-like (vitrified). Because stoneware is non-porous, glaze is applied only for decoration. It is a sturdy, chip-resistant and durable material suitable for use in the kitchen for cooking, baking, storing liquids and as serving dishes.
Porcelain is a very hard, translucent white ceramic. The earliest forms of porcelain originated in China around BC, and by 600AD, Chinese porcelain was a prized commodity with Arabian traders. Because porcelain was associated with China and often used to make plates, cups, vases and other works of fine art, it often goes by the name of &#;fine china'.
To make porcelain, small amounts of glass, granite and feldspar minerals are ground up with fine white kaolin clay. Water is then added to the resulting fine white powder so that it can be kneaded and worked into shape. This is fired in a kiln to between 1,200&#;1,450°C. Decorative glazes are then applied followed by further firing.
Bone china &#; which is easier to make, harder to chip and stronger than porcelain &#; is made by adding ash from cattle bones to clay, feldspar minerals and fine silica sand.
Advanced ceramics are not generally clay-based. Instead, they are either based on oxides or non-oxides or combinations of the two:
silicon
carbide (SiC) and molybdenum disilicide (MoSi2).Production processes firstly involve thoroughly blending the very fine constituent material powders. After shaping them into a green body, this is high-temperature fired (1,600&#;1,800°C). This step is often carried out in an oxygen-free atmosphere.
The high temperature allows the tiny grains of the individual ceramic components to fuse together, forming a hard, tough, durable and corrosion-resistant product. This process is called sintering.
Advanced ceramic materials are now well established in many areas of everyday use, from fridge magnets to an increasing range or industries, including metals production and processing, aerospace, electronics, automotive and personnel protection.
In modern medicine, advanced ceramics &#; often referred to as bioceramics &#; play an increasingly important role. Bioceramics such as alumina and zirconia are hard, chemically inert materials that can be polished to a high finish. They are used as dental implants and as bone substitutes in orthopaedic operations such as hip and knee replacement. Find out more on the uses for advanced ceramics.
Progress in the advanced ceramics field has come about as a consequence of creative and imaginative thinking by materials scientists. Thinking &#;outside of the square&#; can sometimes lead to the solving of an irksome problem.
Introduction
You might not realize it but your life revolves around ceramics. From the ceramic-based electronic components in your computer to the high-end TV you watch, ceramics are constantly a part of your life. Even though you might not understand or recognize ceramics, it doesn&#;t mean that they aren&#;t a vital feature of your day - and the world around you.
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Yes, ceramics are everywhere and they have come a long way in the recent years. While once used in just a few industries and on select daily items, ceramics are now located in almost every business in one way or another. And their value only grows as more and more companies find ways to make your life easier with this miracle creation. So what are ceramics and how are they used? How do they make your life so much more manageable?
What are Ceramics?
In the most technical sense, a ceramic is a specific type of non-metallic material that has been formed and then solidified by an intense heating process at radically high temperatures. Ceramics are typically brittle, hard, and corrosion-resistant and often very strong. They look and feel like a combination of glass and cement. Currently, the term "ceramic" has taken on a broader definition, encompassing materials such as glass, advanced ceramics, and certain cement systems.
While traditional ceramics are clay-based and rely on clay for their creation, modern-day ceramics are using new materials that aren&#;t clay. Instead they used materials that are based on oxides or non-oxides or combinations of the two such as alumni, zirconia, carbides, borides, nitrides, and silicides, just to name a few.
The Properties of Ceramics
The most essential feature of ceramics is that they are refractory: they are rough-and-tumble materials that can withstand a lot of damage in both ordinary and unusual circumstances. Consider this: most of us tile our kitchens and bathrooms because ceramic tiles are durable, waterproof, scratch-resistant, and look excellent year after year.
Engineers also use unique ceramic tiles on space rockets to shield them from heat when they return to Earth. From your shower to the stars, ceramics are used in all sorts of ways because of their strong, distinct properties. Here are the most notable attributes of ceramics:
They have high melting points, which means they are heat resistant.
They feature great hardness and strength.
They have considerable durability, which means they can last for decades.
They contain low electrical and thermal conductivity.
They have chemical inertness, which means they're unreactive with other chemicals.
Types of Ceramics and How They Are Used
Classic, time-tested ceramics that have become a part of everyday life include bricks, glass, porcelain, cement, pottery, tiles, and concrete. Despite the fact that they all have diverse applications, we may still consider them to be general-purpose materials because they are used in many of the industries that make the world go around.
Take a look at the kitchen in your home. It is filled with tiles and glass and porcelain that is ceramic-based. The same is true for your bathroom too. Traditional ceramics like these are old materials that our predecessors would know well, and they've steadily gained in popularity as the years have passed. Advanced ceramics, on the other hand, are materials that have been developed during the previous few decades for very specialized uses.
The most notable examples involve silicon nitrides and tungsten carbides, which are made for making extremely hard, high-performance cutting tools, but they also have other applications. Metal oxides, carbides, and nitrides are the most common contemporary manufactured ceramics, which are compounds formed by mixing metal atoms with oxygen, carbon, or nitrogen atoms. While you might not know of these ceramics off the top of your head, they are surely influential on many items in your home and many industries that help serve you throughout your life.
How Are Ceramics Used
We've seen that there are numerous different items that may be classified as ceramics, from glass and brick to porcelain and cement. Not surprisingly, there are quite literally thousands of diverse uses for ceramic materials in anything from aerospace to house keeping.
Plane jet engines, for example, are gas turbine devices that function by burning fuel combinations at high temperatures to produce a flaming exhaust that propels a plane into the air. The requirement to withstand extreme temperatures explains why ceramics are frequently used in engine components. Thousands of ceramic tiles were employed aboard the now-retired NASA Space Shuttle to save it from bursting into flames on its journey down to Earth from space for the same reason.
In fact, it was faulty ceramic tiles that caused the tragic loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia in . Ceramics are also commonly utilized on building sites as tools. Whether you're cutting glass, crushing concrete, or sawing through industrial brick material, engineering ceramics will help shape more traditional ceramics, and will perform better and last longer than steel-based tools. Ceramics aren't necessarily cutting-edge. Actually, we often overlook them, particularly when they're hidden behind electrical and electronic equipment.
Magnets are found in anything that has an electric motor and they're frequently composed of ferrite ceramics. Ceramics are also used in the electrical systems that heat and cool us in our homes. You will often see ceramic insulators in overhead powerlines. You will also see ceramics in your home, on the stove top that is producing great heat to make your meals.
Conclusion
Ceramics have advanced over the years and are able to be used in a variety of different products and industries that help make your life so much easier. Your kitchen, your bathroom, and the power that flows through your home relies on ceramics. But ceramics are used for far more than just that.
In fact, the rocket ships that are flying through the stars need ceramics too. The wide range of uses for ceramics prove just how important they are. For years now, they have helped the world go round and as more time goes on, ceramics find more and more ways to make life easier.
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