Transformation and Rocks
What? You say. What is a ceramic bowl or cup but a piece of fancy rock? A rock transformed, that is. We form a lump of clay that has ground stone mixed in, fire it in a very, very hot oven until it melts and fuses solid and we decorate the surface in colors that appeal to us, using more ground up rock. We use this ceramic for all sorts of things, besides our tableware. Ceramics are used as glass in the home and automotive industry, spaceships, industrial equipment and much, much more. Check out this Wikipedia page if you are interested in ceramics extensive uses:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceramic . Rock is found within the earth; stone is cut from the rock.
I find it interesting to know something about rock in a very general and simple way.
Rock Cycles:
There are three types of rock on our planet: sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous; each formed by physical changes over thousands of years such as melting, cooling, eroding, compacting, or deforming.
1. Sedimentary rock is formed from smaller pieces of rock all pressed together. Organic sedimentary rock, such as coal, forms from biological materials like plants, shells, and bone that are compressed into rock over millennia. This is highly flammable. Some sedimentary rock such are limestone, salt, and silica, form when the compounds are dissolved in water, then evaporation takes place over time, leaving behind dissolved material in large quantities.
SANDSTONE SALT
2. Metamorphic rock is formed by changes to the composition by heat or pressure. Examples would be marble and quartzite.
MARBLE
3. Igneous rock is formed when the material is heated to a temperature that renders it molten and then the rock is cooled and solidified. Granite is an example of rock that cools over a long-time cycle on earth (1000s of years). This allows large crystals to grow. Obsidian is an example of molten rock that cools very quickly so the crystal formation is very small, fine and glassy.
LABRADORITERED GRANITE
4. A basic and simplified recipe for Porcelain
Feldspar/ Silica (the main event) for durability
Ball clay (with botanical material for elasticity) ease of forming
Flint (a form of glassy quartz) shiny translucent surface
Kaolin (decomposed granite) allows baking at highest temperatures for melt
Hard Porcelain (in our opinion, the best ceramic) necessarily includes Kaolin.
Ceramics can be used for car parts or for something whimsical, decorative and useful.