Porcelain is a ceramic material made by heating raw materials, generally including kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between 1,200 and 1,400 °C. The greater strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arise mainly from vitrification and the formation of the mineral mullite within the body at these high temperatures. End applications include tableware, decorative ware such as figurines, toilets and washbasins, and products in technology and industry such as electrical insulators and laboratory ware.
Chinese Jingdezhen porcelain moonflask with underglaze blue and red. Qianlong period, 1736 to 1796
A lithophane exploits the translucency of porcelain
Nymphenburg porcelain group modelled by Franz Anton Bustelli, 1756
Soft-paste porcelain swan tureen, 1752–1756, Chelsea porcelain
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.
Silicon nitride rocket thruster. Left: Mounted in test stand. Right: Being tested with H2/O2 propellants.
Earliest known ceramics are the Gravettian figurines that date to 29,000–25,000 BC.
Corded-Ware culture pottery from 2500 BC
Cutting disks made of silicon carbide
