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Quartz Inversion
The room-temperature form of quartz, α-quartz, undergoes a reversible change in crystal structure at 573 °C to form β-quartz. This phenomenon is called an inversion, and for the α to β quartz inversion is accompanied by a linear expansion of 0.45%. This inversion can lead to cracking of ceramic ware if cooling occurs too quickly through the inversion temperature. This is called ''dunting'', and the resultant faults are known as ''dunts''. To avoid such thermal shock faults, cooling rates not exceeding 50 °C/hour have been recommended. At 870 °C quartz ceases to be stable but, in the absence of fluxes, does not alter until a much higher temperature is reached, when, depending on the temperature and nature of the fluxes present, it is converted into the polymorphs of cristobalite and / or tridymite. These polymorphs also experience temperature-induced inversions. The inversion of cristobalite at 220 °C can be advantageous to achieve the ''cristobalite squ ...
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Quartz
Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The Atom, atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen Tetrahedral molecular geometry, tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical formula of Silicon dioxide, SiO2. Quartz is, therefore, classified structurally as a Silicate mineral#Tectosilicates, framework silicate mineral and compositionally as an oxide mineral. Quartz is the second most abundant mineral in Earth's continental crust, behind feldspar. Quartz exists in two forms, the normal α-quartz and the high-temperature β-quartz, both of which are chiral. The transformation from α-quartz to β-quartz takes place abruptly at . Since the transformation is accompanied by a significant change in volume, it can easily induce microfracturing of ceramics or rocks passing through this temperature threshold. There are many different varieties of quartz, several of which are classifi ...
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Glaze Defects
Glaze defects are any flaws in the surface quality of a ceramic glaze, its physical structure or its interaction with the body. Glaze and body mismatch Certain glaze defects are a result of differences in the thermal expansion coefficient of the glaze and the clay body. Crazing Crazing is a spider web pattern of cracks penetrating the glaze. It is caused by tensile stresses greater than the glaze is able to withstand."Ceramics Glaze Technology". J. R. Taylor, A. C. Bull. ''Institute Of Ceramics / Pergamon Press.'' 1986. Common reasons for such stresses are: a mismatch between the thermal expansions of glaze and body; from moisture expansion of the body; and in the case of glazed tiles fixed to a wall, movement of the wall or of the bonding material used to fix the tile to the wall.Dictionary Of Ceramics. Arthur Dodd & David Murfin. 3rd edition. ''The Institute Of Minerals.'' 1994. The cracks can allow the ingress of water into the cracks. Once fired, ware tends to be more resista ...
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Mullite
Mullite or porcelainite is a rare silicate mineral formed during contact metamorphism of clay minerals. It can form two stoichiometric forms: 3 Al2 O32 SiO2 or 2Al2O3 SiO2. Unusually, mullite has no charge-balancing cations present. As a result, there are three different aluminium sites: two distorted tetrahedral and one octahedral. Mullite was first described in 1924 for an occurrence on the Isle of Mull, Scotland. It occurs as argillaceous inclusions in volcanic rocks in the Isle of Mull, inclusions in sillimanite within a tonalite at Val Sissone, Italy and with emerylike rocks in Argyllshire, Scotland. Porcellanite Mullite (porcelainite) can be found as a constituent mineral in a type of thermally-metamorphosed rock called porcellanite. Use in porcelain Mullite is present in the form of needles in porcelain. It is produced during various melting and firing processes, and is used as a refractory material,H. Schneider & S. Komarneni (2005) Mullite. Wiley, VCH, 5 ...
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Alumina
Aluminium oxide (or aluminium(III) oxide) is a chemical compound of aluminium and oxygen with the chemical formula . It is the most commonly occurring of several aluminium oxides, and specifically identified as aluminium oxide. It is commonly called alumina and may also be called aloxide, aloxite, ALOX or alundum in various forms and applications and alumina is refined from bauxite. It occurs naturally in its crystalline polymorphic phase α-Al2O3 as the mineral corundum, varieties of which form the precious gemstones ruby and sapphire,which have an alumina content approaching 100%. Al2O3 is used as feedstock to produce aluminium metal, as an abrasive owing to its hardness, and as a refractory material owing to its high melting point. Natural occurrence Corundum is the most common naturally occurring crystalline form of aluminium oxide. Rubies and sapphires are gem-quality forms of corundum, which owe their characteristic colours to trace impurities. Rubies are given their ...
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Petalite
Petalite, also known as castorite, is a lithium aluminum phyllosilicate mineral Li Al Si4 O10, crystallizing in the monoclinic system. Petalite occurs as colorless, pink, grey, yellow, yellow grey, to white tabular crystals and columnar masses. It occurs in lithium-bearing pegmatites with spodumene, lepidolite, and tourmaline. Petalite is an important ore of lithium, and is converted to spodumene and quartz by heating to ~500 °C and under 3 kbar of pressure in the presence of a dense hydrous alkali borosilicate fluid with a minor carbonate component. Petalite (and secondary spodumene formed from it) is lower in iron than primary spodumene, making it a more useful source of lithium in, e.g., the production of glass. The colorless varieties are often used as gemstones. Discovery and occurrence Petalite was discovered in 1800, by Brazilian naturalist and statesman Jose Bonifacio de Andrada e Silva. Type locality: Utö Island, Haninge, Stockholm, Sweden. The nam ...
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Nepheline Syenite
Nepheline syenite is a holocrystalline Intrusion, plutonic rock that consists largely of nepheline and alkali feldspar. The rocks are mostly pale colored, grey or pink, and in general appearance they are not unlike granites, but dark green varieties are also known. Phonolite is the fine-grained Extrusive rock, extrusive equivalent. Petrology Nepheline syenites are silica-undersaturated and some are peralkaline (terms discussed in igneous rock). Nepheline is a feldspathoid, a solid-solution mineral, that does not coexist with quartz; rather, nepheline would react with quartz to produce alkali feldspar. They are distinguished from syenites not only by the presence of nepheline but also by the occurrence of many other minerals rich in alkalis and in rare earths and other incompatible elements. In nepheline syenites, alkali feldspar dominates, commonly represented by orthoclase and the exsolved lamellar albite, form perthite. In some rocks the potash feldspar, in others the soda f ...
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Cordierite
Cordierite (mineralogy) or iolite (gemology) is a magnesium iron aluminium cyclosilicate. Iron is almost always present, and a solid solution exists between Mg-rich cordierite and Fe-rich sekaninaite with a series formula: to . A high-temperature polymorph exists, indialite, which is isostructural with beryl and has a random distribution of Al in the rings. Cordierite is also synthesized and used in high temperature applications such as catalytic converters and pizza stones. Name and discovery Cordierite, which was discovered in 1813, in specimens from Níjar, Almería, Spain, is named after the French geologist Louis Cordier (1777–1861). Occurrence Cordierite typically occurs in contact or regional metamorphism of pelitic rocks. It is especially common in hornfels produced by contact metamorphism of pelitic rocks. Two common metamorphic mineral assemblages include sillimanite-cordierite-spinel and cordierite-spinel-plagioclase- orthopyroxene. Other associated mine ...
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Talc
Talc, or talcum, is a clay mineral composed of hydrated magnesium silicate, with the chemical formula . Talc in powdered form, often combined with corn starch, is used as baby powder. This mineral is used as a thickening agent and lubricant. It is an ingredient in ceramics, paints, and roofing material. It is a main ingredient in many cosmetics. It occurs as foliated to fibrous masses, and in an exceptionally rare crystal form. It has a perfect basal cleavage and an uneven flat fracture, and it is foliated with a two-dimensional platy form. The Mohs scale of mineral hardness, based on scratch hardness comparison, defines value 1 as the hardness of talc, the softest mineral. When scraped on a streak plate, talc produces a white streak, though this indicator is of little importance, because most silicate minerals produce a white streak. Talc is translucent to opaque, with colors ranging from whitish grey to green with a vitreous and pearly luster. Talc is not soluble i ...
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Compression (physical)
In mechanics, compression is the application of balanced inward ("pushing") forces to different points on a material or structure, that is, forces with no net sum or torque directed so as to reduce its size in one or more directions.Ferdinand Pierre Beer, Elwood Russell Johnston, John T. DeWolf (1992), "Mechanics of Materials". (Book) McGraw-Hill Professional, It is contrasted with tension or traction, the application of balanced outward ("pulling") forces; and with shearing forces, directed so as to displace layers of the material parallel to each other. The compressive strength of materials and structures is an important engineering consideration. In uniaxial compression, the forces are directed along one direction only, so that they act towards decreasing the object's length along that direction. The compressive forces may also be applied in multiple directions; for example inwards along the edges of a plate or all over the side surface of a cylinder, so as to reduce ...
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Ceramic
A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain, and brick. The earliest ceramics made by humans were fired clay bricks used for building house walls and other structures. Other pottery objects such as pots, vessels, vases and figurines were made from clay, either by itself or mixed with other materials like silica, hardened by sintering 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 materials developed for use in advanced ceramic engineering, such as semiconductors. The word '' ceramic'' comes from the Ancient Greek word (), meaning ...
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Ceramic Glaze
Ceramic glaze, or simply glaze, is a glassy coating on ceramics. It is used for decoration, to ensure the item is impermeable to liquids and to minimize the adherence of pollutants. Glazing renders earthenware impermeable to water, sealing the inherent porosity of earthenware. It also gives a tougher surface. Glaze is also used on stoneware and porcelain. In addition to their functionality, glazes can form a variety of surface finishes, including degrees of glossy or matte finish and color. Glazes may also enhance the underlying design or texture either unmodified or inscribed, carved or painted. Most pottery produced in recent centuries has been glazed, other than pieces in bisque porcelain, terracotta, and some other types. Tiles are often glazed on the surface face, and modern architectural terracotta is often glazed. Glazed brick is also common. Sanitaryware is invariably glazed, as are many ceramics used in industry, for example ceramic insulators for overhead power li ...
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Tridymite
Tridymite is a high-temperature polymorphism (materials science), polymorph of silica and usually occurs as minute tabular white or colorless pseudo-hexagonal crystals, or scales, in cavities in felsic volcanic rocks. Its chemical formula is silicon, Sioxygen, O2. Tridymite was first described in 1868 and the Type locality (geology), type location is in Hidalgo, Mexico. The name is from the Greek (language), Greek ''tridymos'' for ''triplet'' as tridymite commonly occurs as Crystal twinning, twinned crystal ''wikt:trilling, trillings'' (compound crystals comprising three twinned crystal components). Structure Tridymite can occur in seven crystalline forms. Two of the most common at standard pressure are known as α and β. The α-tridymite phase is favored at elevated temperatures (above 870 °C) and it converts to β-cristobalite at 1,470 °C. However, tridymite does usually not form from pure β-quartz, one needs to add trace amounts of certain compounds to achieve t ...
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