Ceramic Materials

Abstract

Ceramic materials are complex chemical compounds and solutions containing both metallic and nonmetallic elements. Alumina (Al₂O₃), for example, is a ceramic composed of metallic (aluminium) and nonmetallic (oxygen) atoms. Ceramic materials have a wide range of mechanical and physical properties. Applications vary from pottery, brick, tile, cooking ware, and soil pipe to glass, refractories, magnets, electrical devices, fibres, and abrasives. The tiles that protect the space shuttle are silica, a ceramic material. For most of these applications, there is one particular property or combination of properties of the ceramic that is essential, cannot be obtained by any other material, and therefore forms the basis for its selection.