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Let's begin with the basics. It's a word you often hear - ceramics. You have some vague idea of what it means and associate it immediately with pottery, with coffee mugs, with tiles and with home accessories. Experts tell us, however, that the definition of ceramics isn't as easy as it used to be. 25 years ago, you were talking about 'objects made from fired clay', and this definition took in bricks, cement, terracotta, stoneware, porcelain, and similar materials, mainly oxides derived from mineral sources. The more modern definition is slightly more complicated. Ceramics are supposed to be 'crystalline compounds of metallic and non-metallic elements', characterised by high brittleness, rigidity, and hardness; high melting points (1900-3900 degrees C); high strength under compression; and resistance to chemical attack. Put simply, they are typically produced by the application of heat upon processed clays and other natural raw materials to form a rigid product.
Let's forget the technicalities, however, and go back to where the word actually comes from. The word ceramic can be traced back to the Greek term keramos, meaning 'a potter' or 'pottery'. Keramos, in turn, is related to an older Sanskrit root meaning 'to burn'. Thus, the early Greeks used the term to mean 'burned stuff' or 'burned earth' when referring to products obtained through the action of fire upon earthy materials.
Archeologists have uncovered human-made ceramics that date back to at least 24,000 BC. These ceramics were found in Czechoslovakia and were in the form of animal and human figurines. They were made of animal fat and bone mixed with bone ash and a fine claylike material, and fired at temperatures between 500-800 degrees C in domed and horseshoe shaped kilns partially dug into the ground. While it is not clear what these ceramics were used for, they were probably decorative; the first use of functional pottery vessels is thought to be in 9,000 BC, when they were used to store grain and other foods.
Today, ceramics are everywhere - in your coffee cups and home accessories; in your wall tiles and your floorings; in your home insulation and your aircraft… the electronics industry would not exist without ceramics, for they have a wide range of electrical properties including insulating, semi-conducting, superconducting, piezoelectric and magnetic. Ceramics are also critical to products such as cell phones, computers, television, and other consumer electronic products. Surgeons are using bio-ceramic materials for repair and replacement of human hips, knees, and other body parts, and dentists are using ceramics for tooth replacement implants. There are many more uses of ceramics, and new ones are still being discovered.
Enjoy, it is spring all the time on these peaks
Let's forget the technicalities, however, and go back to where the word actually comes from. The word ceramic can be traced back to the Greek term keramos, meaning 'a potter' or 'pottery'. Keramos, in turn, is related to an older Sanskrit root meaning 'to burn'. Thus, the early Greeks used the term to mean 'burned stuff' or 'burned earth' when referring to products obtained through the action of fire upon earthy materials.
Archeologists have uncovered human-made ceramics that date back to at least 24,000 BC. These ceramics were found in Czechoslovakia and were in the form of animal and human figurines. They were made of animal fat and bone mixed with bone ash and a fine claylike material, and fired at temperatures between 500-800 degrees C in domed and horseshoe shaped kilns partially dug into the ground. While it is not clear what these ceramics were used for, they were probably decorative; the first use of functional pottery vessels is thought to be in 9,000 BC, when they were used to store grain and other foods.
Today, ceramics are everywhere - in your coffee cups and home accessories; in your wall tiles and your floorings; in your home insulation and your aircraft… the electronics industry would not exist without ceramics, for they have a wide range of electrical properties including insulating, semi-conducting, superconducting, piezoelectric and magnetic. Ceramics are also critical to products such as cell phones, computers, television, and other consumer electronic products. Surgeons are using bio-ceramic materials for repair and replacement of human hips, knees, and other body parts, and dentists are using ceramics for tooth replacement implants. There are many more uses of ceramics, and new ones are still being discovered.
Enjoy, it is spring all the time on these peaks
posted by Jinu @ 5:46 AM
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