A Brief About Ceramics Products, Their Different Types And Usage

By Author: Jim Ruth
Total Articles: 12
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We use most commonly the word ceramic but do you know from where this beautiful word of ceramic has originated? The origin of the word ceramic comes from the Greek word "keramikos", which means "of pottery" or "for pottery", and also from another Greek word "keramos", which signifies the "potter's clay, tile, pottery". The very earliest mention on the root for ceramic word which is "ceram-" comes from the Mycenaean Greek word ke-ra-me-we, which means "workers of ceramics", this is generally written in Linear b syllabic script. In other terms the word ceramic may be used as an adjective generally describing a material, product or process; or it can be also used as a singular noun, or as a plural noun which is more commonly used as ceramics.

The material of ceramic is an inorganic, non-metallic solid which is prepared by the action of heat and thereafter cooled subsequently. You might have observed that the ceramic materials would have a crystalline or partly crystalline structure, yet there are even others which are amorphous in nature (like the material of glass). It is because that the most common ceramics are crystalline ...
... in nature, the standard definition of ceramic is generally restricted to the inorganic crystalline materials, so the ceramics which are the non-crystalline glasses doesn't come into consideration.

When we peek into the history the earliest ceramics were the pottery objects made from clay, either they would be purely made of clay or would have mixed with other materials, which is hardened in fire. The ceramics which came later were glazed and fired which created a colored, smooth surface. The current ceramics now include the domestic, industrial and building products and of art objects which are generally termed as Ceramics Products. This is an interesting note to feature that in the 20th century, new ceramic materials were developed for the use in advanced ceramic engineering which included the research and use in semiconductors.

Now let's look into the details of various ceramics products available.

Generally whenever the word ceramic rings it is often understood and restricted to inorganic crystalline oxide material. Which is a solid material and an inert one. The Ceramics Products made from ceramic materials are brittle, and at the same time hard and strong in compression, weak in shearing and tension. The amazing fact about ceramics products is that they withstand chemical erosion which occurs in other materials when subjected to acidic or caustic environment. They have a good heat resistance, generally ceramics can withstand very high temperatures such as the temperature ranges from 1,000 °C to 1,600 °C (which is equivalent to 1,800°F to 3,000°F). Still there are few exceptions in this and they include inorganic materials which do not include oxygen such as the ones of silicon carbide or silicon nitride. A glass is generally not understood as a ceramic because of its amorphous (i.e., non-crystalline) character. However, the glass making would involve several other steps of the ceramic process and also its mechanical properties are very similar to ceramic materials.

The general traditional ceramic raw materials are prepared from clay minerals such as kaolinite, as against the more recent materials which include the usage of aluminum oxide, more commonly known as alumina. The advanced ceramics which are the more modern ceramic materials include the silicon carbide and tungsten carbide. The ceramics products made from these advanced ceramic material are valued for their abrasion resistance, so is the reason why they find most usage in applications such as the wear plates of the crushing equipment in the hard mining operations.

Ceramics products are also used as Decorative Accessories for the Home which are generally used in the similar fashion as do the hand embroidered pillows or the handcrafted furniture in the home décor space.

Author's Bio:

Jim Ruth is a regular writer about the various developments happening in web world. These days he is writing on E Commerce world where it is impacting the lives of people in a greater way. This one is on Decorative Accessories for the Home and Ceramics Products. For more information please visit http://www.ulalas.com/