Ceramic Engineering

Ceramic engineering is the science and technology of creating objects from inorganic, non-metallic materials by the action of heat. The term includes the purification of raw materials, the study and production of the chemical compounds concerned, their formation into components and the study of their structure, composition and properties. Ceramic materials may have a crystalline or partly crystalline structure, with long-range order on a molecular scale. Glass ceramics may have an amorphous or glassy structure, with limited or short-range molecular order. They are either formed from a molten mass that solidifies on cooling, or formed and matured by the action of heat.
The word "ceramic" is derived from the Greek word κεραμικός (keramikos) meaning pottery. It is related to the older Sanskrit root "to burn", "Ceramic" may be used as a noun in the singular to refer to a ceramic material or the product of ceramic manufacture, or as an adjective. The plural "ceramics" may be used to refer the making of things out of ceramic materials.
Ceramic engineering is the technology of the manufacturing and usage of ceramic materials. The special character of ceramic materials gives rise to many engineering applications and ceramics have attracted the attention of engineers in electrical engineering, materials engineering, chemical engineering and mechanical engineering. As ceramics are heat resistant, they can be used for many tasks that materials like metal and polymers are unsuitable for.
Ceramic engineers seek new applications for ceramic materials and try to mitigate the problems arising from their limitations. They work in a wide range of industries, including mining, aerospace, medicine, refinery, the food industry, the chemical industry, packaging science, electronics, industrial electricity and transmission electricity.