ABSTRACT
Ceramics encompass any inorganic, nonmetallic solids. This category of materials can be further divided in a number of ways. Based on the level of crystallinity, for example, the three subgroups include ceramics (crystalline inorganic, nonmetal materials), glasses (amorphous inorganic, nonmetal materials), and glass-ceramics (partially crystalline inorganic, nonmetal materials). In industry, ceramics are often classified according to their applications, as listed here:
• Structural clay products, including bricks, pipes, and floor and roof tiles. • Refractories, such as furnace linings, crucibles to contain steel and glass melts,
and gas fire radiants. • Whitewares, including tableware, cookware, wall tiles, pottery products, and
sanitary ware. • Abrasives, such as SiC powders. • Cements and plaster. • Porcelain enamel. • Technical ceramics, such as semiconductors, structural ceramics, and biomedi-
cal implant ceramics. The raw materials of technical ceramics do not include clays, and thus this type of ceramics is often called fine ceramics.
