Ceramic Definition and Chemistry

Ceramic Definition and Chemistry The word ceramic comes from the Greek word keramikos, which means of pottery. While the earliest ceramics were pottery, the term encompasses a large group of materials, including some pure elements. A ceramic is an inorganic, nonmetallic solid, generally based on an oxide, nitride, boride, or carbide, that is fired at a high temperature. Ceramics may be glazed prior to firing to produce a coating that reduces porosity and has a smooth, often colored surface. Many ceramics contain a mixture of ionic and covalent bonds between atoms. The resulting material may be crystalline, semi-crystalline, or vitreous. Amorphous materials with similar composition are generally termed glass. The four main types of ceramics are whitewares, structural ceramics, technical ceramics, and refractories. Whitewares include cookware, pottery, and wall tiles. Structural ceramics include bricks, pipes, roofing tiles, and floor tiles. Technical ceramics are also know as special, fine, advanced, or engineered ceramics. This class includes bearings, special tiles (e.g. spacecraft heat shielding), biomedical implants, ceramic brakes, nuclear fuels, ceramic engines,  and ceramic coatings. Refractories are ceramics used to make crucibles, line kilns, and radiate heat in gas fireplaces. How Ceramics Are Made Raw materials for ceramics include clay, kaolinate, aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, tungsten carbide, and certain pure elements. The raw materials are combined with water to form a mix that can be shaped or molded. Ceramics are difficult to work after they are made, so usually they are shaped into their final desired forms. The form is allowed to dry and is fired in an oven called a kiln. The firing process supplies the energy to form new chemical bonds in the material (vitrification) and sometimes new minerals (e.g., mullite forms from kaolin in the firing of porcelain). Waterproof, decorative, or functional glazes may be added prior to the first firing or may require a subsequent firing (more common). The first firing of a ceramic yields a product called the bisque. The first firing burns off organics and other volatile impurities. The second (or third) firing may be called glazing. Examples and Uses  of Ceramics Pottery, bricks, tiles, earthenware, china, and porcelain are common examples of ceramics. These materials are well-known for use in building, crafting, and art. There are many other ceramic materials: In the past, glass was considered a ceramic, because its an inorganic solid that is fired and treated much like a ceramic. However, because glass is an amorphous solid, glass is usually considered to be a separate material. The ordered internal structure of ceramics plays a large role in their properties.Solid pure silicon and carbon may be considered to be ceramics. In a strict sense, a diamond could be called a ceramic.Silicon carbide and tungsten carbide are technical ceramics that have high abrasion resistance, making them useful for body armor, wear plates for mining, and machine components.Uranium oxide (UO2 is a ceramic used as a nuclear reactor fuel.Zirconia (zirconium dioxide) is used to make ceramic knife blades, gems, fuel cells, and oxygen sensors.Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a semiconductor.Boron oxide is used to make body armor.Bismuth strontium copper oxide and magnesium diboride (MgB2) are superconductors.Steatite (magnesium silicate) is used as an electrical insulator.Barium titanate is used to make heating elements, capacitors, transducers, and data storage elements. Ceramic artifacts are useful in archaeology and paleontology because their chemical composition can be used to identify their origin. This includes not only the composition of clay, but also that of the temper the materials added during production and drying. Properties of Ceramics Ceramics include such a wide variety of materials that its difficult to generalize their characteristics. Most ceramics exhibit the following properties: High hardnessUsually brittle, with poor toughnessHigh melting pointChemical resistancePoor electrical and thermal conductivityLow ductilityHigh modulus of elasticityHigh compression strengthOptical transparency to a variety of wavelengths Exceptions include superconducting and piezoelectric ceramics. Related Terms The science of the preparation and characterization of ceramics is called ceramography. Composite materials are made up of more than one class of material, which may include ceramics. Examples of composites include carbon fiber and fiberglass. A cermet is a type of composite material containing ceramic and metal. A glasss of glass-ceramics include glass stove tops and the glass composite used to bind nuclear waste for disposal.

Should Same-Sex Marriage be Legalized Worldwide Essay

Should Same-Sex Marriage be Legalized Worldwide - Essay Example Equality is fundamental and same sex marriages should also be constitutionally recognized. The definition of marriage should deviate from the ‘thicker’ religious perception to the ‘thin’ altered government definition to incorporate other marriages and enforce equality and respect for the rights of all people. The paper also argues that denying homosexuals rights to marriage is a denial of their rights in pursuit of happiness. Finally, it argues that though resistance could be high in other areas, the societies are slowly changing their perception and most nations have adopted or are in due process of recognizing same-sex marriages. Keywords: Homosexual, Same Sex Marriages, Straight Marriages, Heterosexual Marriages, Protections, Cultures, Beliefs, Equality, Pursuit of Happiness, Religion, Christian, Attitudes, Society, Rights, Government The issue of homosexuality has long history in the world. Its existence had always been suppressed by the social and political altitudes in the societies, which prevented the concerned parties from standing up for what they believed in. Allegedly, families have raised children and dictated what is needed of them. However, those who have demonstrated pure sexual attraction to people of the same gender have been condemned and are forced to change their preferences to suit others’ expectations. Some parents have gone far to reject their own children who choose to and uphold their position on same sex marriage. Cases of homosexuality can well be traced in the ancient times of Egyptians, Greeks and the Romans. Though not popular as in the contemporary world, the Christian dominated negative attitude of the same sex marriages has remained over time; the imposition of an Eskridge in the roman empire during the 4th century demonstrated the rising homosexual unions, which the empire w as

What Impact Did Second World War Have On Canadian Society Essay

What Impact Did Second World War Have On Canadian Society - Essay Example It was due to the war that the country realized the importance of a strong naval background accompanied by a good number of officers and sailors. There were only 35,000 officers and sailors serving the navy at the time of the war. Even with this handful of officers the navy did not hesitated in serving the country and the Canadian warships continued providing support to all the soldiers landing on the beaches and seas. They also used to escort groups and provide protection to them from enemy submarines flowing in the Mediterranean and Caribbean Seas. (http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/Exhibitions/Militaris/index.html) At the beginning of the war the Canadian army on land comprised of very few permanent soldiers and a large number of part time workers. The soldiers were also not equipped with latest war weapons and had very poor and outdated rifles and guns. When the war broke out in 1939 the Canadian soldiers were sent to Europe for training purposes. These handful of soldiers were also very eager to fight for the defence of their country and as the number slightly reached half million, Canada decided to send some of its troops to France. But they were soon called back due to the fall of France to German forces. Other Canadian troops were sent to Iceland and south East Asia with the intention of helping the British forces and protecting Hong Kong. It also took part with British and American troops in a deadly operation that took place in 1942, which took away lives of majority of the soldiers and wounded quite a big number of them. Canadian Air Force was a small department at the beginning of the war that participated with only limited number of bombs, aerial combats, hunting submarines and air fighters. The Canadian fighters and bombers used to guide European flyers throw missiles and bombs on enemy troops on the ground and fight with German aircrafts. Keeping in view such heroic acts of the air force, the bombers formed a vital part of the 2nd Tactical Air Force. (http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/Exhibitions/Militaris/index.html) Relations with United States improved after the war as Britain started to turn away. A declaration was signed with the US in the 1940 known as the Ogdensburg Declaration, which made the two countries allies as trade partners and work towards common goals. Both the countries collaborated in military matters after the Hyde Park agreement. Their common enemy was the German dictator, Hitler. France had just collapsed and its security was dear to both Canada and US. (Anthony 47) Canada gained equally for the sacrifices it made in the war. Around 50,000 men laid their lives and close to 1 million families served voluntarily. Those at home did not suffer too much. Their routine life might have been disturbed by restricted travel laws and rationing of food for a brief period of time during the war. The buying power was influenced and heavy taxes were applied but there was very less unemployment and the average salary was adequate. The industrialization provided jobs and sparked economic growth. (Anthony 55) After the war, Canadian citizens achieved their separate identity by the establishment of Canadian Citizenship Act initiated by Mackenzie King in 1945. The act came into effect in 1946. Although, technically they were still part of the British Empire but as a citizen of Canada

The blue sky laws Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The blue sky laws - Essay Example It is a common practice for the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) to regulate the security trading activities and enforce laws which are against fraudulent trading. However, the sky blue law has granted authority to state officials to share the responsibility of the SEC (the reduction of fraudulent securities trading and/or ensuring the punishment of violators). The sky blue law has been successful, to a significant extent, in regulating the securities trading. Even though every state implements the law, but take a different approach, there are similarities which form the basis of the effectiveness of the law. First, every state, in pursuant to the law, demands the registration of all players in the security market. The law requires that the stock brokers, the brokerage companies, and private security sellers register or be excused from the requirements of the registration (Legal Information Institute par. 1). Based on the registration strategy, the security agency of various states has successfully managed to reduce the fraudulent securities trading by denying a trading license or certificates to unqualified brokerage companies and/or individual stock brokers. Second, the sky blue law contains subsections that compel companies to release true and fair information to facilitate informed decision making. Third, the law provides for the punis hment of individuals or entities that engage in fraudulent securities trading and/or the release of false information. However, the law has not been very successful in the security regulation of national securities such as those listed on the New York Stock Exchange, NASDAQ among others (Legal Information Institute par. 1-3). In conclusion, the law has been successful in regulating securities trading. The registration process required to be followed by the players in the security market, the issuance of qualification certificates, the pressure to release true and fair information, and the punishment to

Predict human behaviour Essay Example for Free

Predict human behaviour Essay Dissonance theory accepts that we have these inconsistencies and basically says as humans we strive to smooth out any inconsistencies. This theory is best explained with an example; Jenny works everyday but today her sister is going shopping and has asked Jenny if she would like to come. Jenny should go to work and does. Jennys knowledge that she is missing out on the shopping trip is known as a dissonant cognition, whereas the knowledge that she has come to work and is earning some money is a consonant cognition. Her dissonance will increase even more if the trip is to an out-of-town shopping complex as opposed to the small local centre. Individuals do not want to have dissonant cognition therefore try to reduce it. Jenny can do this in a number of ways; firstly, she can keep telling herself about the extra money she is earning and perhaps convince herself that she had a pleasurable day at work. She could also reduce the dissonant cognition by telling herself she would have only spent money on things she cannot afford and doesnt really need. Consonant cognitions justify a persons chosen action and the greater the benefit of something, the greater the justification and the lower the state of dissonance. If however the benefit of the consonant cognition is only small then the dissonance will increase. Festinger and Carlsmith (1959) tested this theory by getting subjects to perform really dull tasks for an hour then asked them to tell the next subjects that the tasks were rather interesting. Subjects were offered either $20 or $1 for lying. Festinger and Carlsmith were interested in how the subjects felt after telling the lie. According to dissonance theory their feelings should depend on the amount of money they were paid. Subjects receiving $20 should feel little dissonance because the larger amount of money justifies lying. The subjects who received $1 should feel greater dissonance because the money didnt justify lying and these subjects would try and convince themselves the task was in fact quite enjoyable, in order to reduce dissonance. Festinger and Carlsmith found subjects in the $1 condition reported a more favourable attitude towards the task, which is consistent with the original predictions. Bem (1967) suggested that a persons behaviour is what shapes their attitude, for example (to quote Bem) since I eat brown bread then I must like brown bread. This logic could be linked with Festinger and Carlsmiths study because if the second lot of subjects were told the tasks were interesting then they would take this opinion on board and actually find the tasks interesting. Assimilation-Contrast Theory (Sherif and Hovland, 1961), this suggests we people favour their own attitudes and if a person comes across another person with an attitude relatively close to their own then they perceive it to resemble their own attitude more than it actually does (this is the assimilation part of the theory) and they will evaluate it in a more positive way by seeing it as fair. Basically this suggests people are biased when it comes to their attitudes because people will accept anything that resembles a similar attitude to their own. Attitudes which had less in common with their attitudes would be rejected and seen as unfair (this is the contrast part of the theory). This is mainly because assimilating attitudes is much easier than trying to accommodate new attitudes. The theory of reasoned behaviour (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975) suggests that subjective norms (which are beliefs about what is appropriate behaviour in a situation) and attitude towards the behaviour (based on expectancies and values) suggest a behavioural intention which then predicts behaviour. The definition of attitude and intention in this context is very similar and doesnt define in strong enough terms exactly what the intentions derived are. All this evidence shows varying approaches towards the attitude-behaviour link, some in support of attitude predicting behaviour and some against it. To say that attitude has three main parts which are highly correlated draws up too many contradictions to conclude it as the best theory, the single model provides more scope to address these contradictions but dissonance theory which suggest we will have inconsistencies and will just strive to balance them is a much more realistic proposal of how attitude links with and predicts behaviour. The evidence shows that there is a link between attitude and how it can predict behaviour but it is not to the extent that you can say it predicts a persons behaviour every time in all situations. References * McDougall, W. (1960) an introduction to social psychology 23rd ed. London New York. Methuen, Barnes Noble. * Mills, J. (1969) experimental social psychology. New York London. MacMillan, Collier-Macmillan * Ajzen, I. (1980) http://socialpsychology.org/ Does understanding a persons attitude help us to predict their behaviour?

The Theme Of Inherit The Wind :: essays research papers

In the play Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, the theme is that every person has the right to think. One example of the theme of this play is Rachel's progression towards independent thinking. In the beginning Rachel fears her father greatly. She says, "I remember feeling this way when I was a little girl. . . .But I was always more frightened of him that I was of falling. It's the same way now" (48-49). However, by the end of the book she has grown away from her father, and now has her own opinions and thoughts. Her new growth and acceptance is shown in her statement: "This is your book, Bert. I've read it. All the way through. I don't want to think that men come from apes and monkeys. But I think that's besides the point" (111). A second example of the theme of Inherit the Wind is shown by the way Drummond acts and how frustrated he becomes when he talks to Brady. In the courtroom, Brady says, "A man is on trial!" (64). Drumm ond is extremely agitated and replies by saying, "A thinking man! And he is threatened with fine and imprisonment because he chooses to speak what he thinks" (64). After their disagreement Drummond states his opinion, by saying, "I am trying to establish, Your Honor, that Howard-or Colonel Brady-or Charles Darwin-or anyone in this courtroom-or you sir-has the right to think!" (64). The theme becomes more apparent throughout the play by the way Cates stands up for and defends himself. At first, Bert Cates is very unsure of himself and is not sure if what he did was correct. Cates questions Drummond as to whether he should stay with the case or give in.

Comparison of Eastern and Western Philosophers

[Comparison of Eastern and Western Philosophers ] Comparison of Eastern and Western Philosophers I will compare the Western philosopher Socrates to the Eastern philosopher Lao Tzu. These two philosophers had some things in common with their ideas and philosophies that they pursued. Socrates was a western philosopher that lived in Athens Greece and Lao was thought to be from what is now known as the Hunan province of China. Socrates Socrates lived in Athens which was a city that taught it was better to solve problems through debate rather than violence. It was because of this environment he grew up in that he became a great debater and strived to discover something important, namely, the essential nature of knowledge, justice, beauty, goodness, and, especially, traits of good character such as courage (McGraw-Hill, pg. 37, 2008) . He believed that power was not attained through wealth or physical strength but rather it was achieved through discussion or debate. The Delphi Oracle is said to have pronounced Socrates the wisest of people. To Socrates this meant he was aware of his own ignorance not that he was the wisest man in the world. Socrates made many enemies after this because he set out to find a man wiser than him and exposed many of them as frauds this brought about his demise as he was sentenced to death for corrupting young men's minds. Even though it is said by Plato that he could have gotten out of prison he choose to remain there because by living in Athens he agreed to live by their laws. Lao Tzu Lao Tzu believed that it was not through intervention but rather through understanding of how it functions. He also believed that the foundation of life was through peace and not through strife. The wise ruler, Lao Tzu believed, understands that violence is a last resort and knows that it can often be avoided by anticipation, by reconciling potential enemies and resolving difficulties when they first arise. Lao also believed it was through deeds done for others and not doing just the things that benefited himself that would define a person. This thought is best supported by a quote from his views on virtue where he stated The superior man hoards nothing. The more he uses for the benefit of others, the more he possesses himself. The more he gives to his fellow men, the more he has of his own (McGraw-Hill, pg. 538, 2008). The absence of selfish desires is the secret to his virtue. What Socrates and Lao Tzu had in common Both Socrates and Lao Tzu thought that even the wisest of humans is still ignorant. Both held that to act on that ignorance under the pretense that it is knowledge is folly that leads not to progress and betterment within the individual and society but to the opposite effect( McGraw-Hill, pg. 536, 2008). Even though both Socrates and Lao Tzu believed in fighting for injustices. Both Socrates and Lao both believed that it is best to settle things through talking and that war should be a last resort because violence only causes more tension and a retaliatory type reactions. In conclusion we can see that there similarities and differences in how these philosophers went about getting their messages across to others Socrates was more open and engaging in his desire to find true knowledge and meaning and used his gift of debate to engage others to find a better solution. Where Lao believed in just letting things happen and unfold as they may and what happens is what is meant to happen. Both of these philosophers were alike in the fact that they both strongly believed in only using force as a last resort. As both of these types of philosophy's have many good points I am more proponed to agree with western philosophy because I think like Socrates it is important to stick to what one truly believes as long as it is not detrimental to anyone else. Because if one's life is going to have meaning then we have to stick to what we believe because at the end of the day what really matters is how we feel about ourselves. If we compromise what we believe because of how others see us then our lives mean nothing. There is a very good poem by an unknown author called The Man in the Mirror in this poem the author states that at the end of the day the only thing that matters is that we can look at ourselves in the mirror and like what we see. References Moore, B. N. ; Bruder, K. (2008). Philosophy: The power of ideas (7th ed. ). Boston: McGraw-Hill.