Materials Science and Chemistry

Ceramics in Materials Science

A ceramic material is a neither metallic nor organic, often crystalline oxide, nitride or carbide material. Some elements, such as carbon or silicon, may be considered ceramics, crystalline, glassy or both crystalline and glassy. The physical properties of any ceramic substance are a direct result of its crystalline structure and chemical composition. Ceramography is the art and science of preparation, examination and evaluation of ceramic microstructures. Ceramic materials are usually ionic or covalent bonded materials, and can be crystalline or amorphous. A material held together by either type of bond will tend to fracture before any plastic deformation takes place, which results in poor toughness in these materials. Ceramic materials are used in electronics because, depending on their composition, they may be semiconducting, superconducting, ferroelectric, or an insulator. Ceramics are typically hard and brittle. While their strength in compression is very high, they are not suitable for loading in tension.