ABSTRACT
The subject of ceramics covers a wide range of materials. Attempts have been made to divide it into two parts: traditional ceramics and advanced ceramics. Traditional ceramics bear a close relationship to those materials that have been developed since the time of the earliest civilizations. Advanced ceramics include ceramics for electrical, magnetic, electronic, and optical applications and ceramics for structural applications at ambient as well as at elevated temperatures. Ceramics can be fabricated by a variety of methods, some of which have their origins in early civilization. Fabrication routes involving reactions between a gas and a liquid are generally impractical for the production of ceramic bodies because the reaction product usually forms a solid protective coating, thereby separating the reactants and effectively stopping the reaction. Fabrication routes in which a solution of metal compounds is converted into a solid body are sometimes referred to as liquid precursor methods.
