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The definition
for ceramics is extremely broad. With such a wide range of materials
being used, the closest deinition available is a refractory, inorganic
& non-metallic material whose formation is due to the reaction
of heat. The word 'ceramic' was derived from the Greek word 'keramos'
meaning pottery. The American Society for Testing and Materials
(ASTM) defines a ceramic article as "an article having a
glazed or unglazed body of crystalline or partially crystalline
structure, or of glass, whose body is produced from essentially
inorganic, non-metallic substances and either is formed from a
molten mass which solidifies on cooling, or is formed and simultaneously
or subsequently matured by the action of heat." Therefore,
ceramic materials display a wide range of properties and are used
in many different product areas.
Examples
of widely known uses of ceramic are space shuttle tiles, fuel
cells, glassware, ceramice tiles, spark plugs, prosthesis, gbone
implants and much more. The Stealth aircraft, used primarily by
military, is made completely of ceramic materials, thus allowing
it to absorb and deflect radar. Over the past 30,000 years, humans
have found many uses and applications for ceramics and continue
to discover new applications everyday, thus making ceramics a
stone age material with space age qualities.
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Ceramics