Ceramics

The word ceramic is derived from the Greek word Κεραμεικος (the name of a suburb of Athens), and in its strictest sense refers to clay in all its forms. However, modern usage of the term broadens the meaning to include all inorganic non-metallic materials. Up until the 1950s or so, the most important of these were the traditional clays, made into pottery, bricks, tiles and the like, along with cements and glass. The traditional crafts are described in the article on pottery. A composite material of ceramic and metal is known as cermet.

Related Topics:
Greek - Athens - Clay - 1950s - Pottery - Brick - Tile - Cement - Glass - Composite material - Metal - Cermet

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The Venus of Dolni Vestonice is the oldest known ceramic in the world. Historically, ceramic products have been hard, porous and brittle. The study of ceramics consists to a large extent of methods to mitigate these problems, and accentuate the strengths of the materials, as well as to offer up unusual uses for these materials.

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