Ceramic

A ceramic is an inorganic, nonmetallic solid comprising metal, nonmetal or metalloid atoms. Varying properties of ceramics cause most ceramic materials to be good thermal and electrical insulators and extensively researched in ceramic engineering. With such a large range of possible options for the composition/structure of a ceramic, identifiable attributes are hard to specify for the group as a whole. However, generalities such as high melting temperature, high hardness, poor conductivity, high elasticity, chemical resistance and low ductility are the norm, with known exceptions to each of these rules. Many composites, such as fiberglass and carbon fiber, while containing ceramic materials, are not considered to be part of the ceramic family.

The word "ceramic" comes from the Greek word keramikos, "of pottery" or "for pottery". The word "ceramic" may be used as an adjective to describe a material, product or process; or it maybe used as a noun, either singular, or more commonly, as the plural noun "ceramics".

The earliest ceramics made by humans were pottery objects, including 30,000 year old figurines, made from clay, either by itself or mixed with other materials like silica, sintered in fire. Later ceramics were glazed and fired to create smooth, colored surfaces, decreasing porosity through the use of glassy, amorphous ceramic coatings on top of the crystalline ceramic substrates. Ceramics now include domestic, industrial and building products, as well as a wide range of ceramic art. In the 20th century CE, new ceramic materials were developed for use in advanced ceramic engineering; for example (e.g. semiconductors).

Today, numerous applications for ceramics are found Union wide, from tableware to armor to spacecraft components.