Definition Of Ceramics Materials

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.

Definition of ceramics materials.

Many ceramics contain a mixture of ionic and covalent bonds between atoms. 1 clay was one of the earliest materials used to produce ceramics but many different ceramic materials are now used in domestic industrial and building products. A ceramic material is an inorganic non metallic often crystalline oxide nitride or carbide material. They are formed by the action of heat and subsequent cooling.

Ceramic materials can be identified by their general properties like high hardness brittleness chemical stability and low thermal conductivity. They withstand chemical erosion that occurs in other materials subjected to acidic or caustic environments. Amorphous materials with similar composition are generally termed glass. These material properties are utilized to produce number of commercial and domestic products such as pottery bricks advanced functional items etc.

Ceramic comes from the greek word meaning pottery. Nowadays the term ceramic has a more expansive meaning and includes materials like glass advanced ceramics and some cement systems as well. Ceramic material synonyms ceramic material pronunciation ceramic material translation english dictionary definition of ceramic material. Some elements such as carbon or silicon may be considered ceramics ceramic materials are brittle hard strong in compression and weak in shearing and tension.

The resulting material may be crystalline semi crystalline or vitreous. Ceramics may be glazed prior to firing to produce a coating that reduces porosity and has a smooth often colored surface.