Materials ScienceIntroduction |
How are ceramics made? |
Ceramics are nonmetallic materials that are made of a mixture of metallic and non-metallic elements. A ceramic is made by taking an inorganic material, heating it to a high temperature such that the (atomic/molecular) components can rearrange easily, and then allowing the material to cool to room temperature. The resulting materials are typically strong, hard, brittle, and are poor conductors of heat and electricity.