Intermetallic compound, any of a class of substances composed of definite proportions of two or…

Silicon carbide, exceedingly hard, synthetically produced crystalline compound of silicon and carbon. Its chemical formula is SiC. Since the late…

Ductility, Capacity of a material to deform permanently (e.g., stretch, bend, or spread) in response…

Phosphorus (P), nonmetallic chemical element of the nitrogen family (Group 15 [Va] of the periodic table) that at room temperature…

(Group 14 [IVa] of the periodic table). Silicon makes up 27.7 percent of Earth’s crust; it…

Hot metal (blast-furnace iron) Most blast furnaces are linked to a basic oxygen steel plant, for which the…

Cast iron, an alloy of iron that contains 2 to 4 percent carbon, along with varying amounts of silicon and manganese and…

Coal gasification, any process of converting coal into gas for use in illuminating and heating. The first illuminating gas…

Chemical element, also called element, any substance that cannot be decomposed into simpler substances by ordinary…

Industrial ceramics, Ceramics are broadly defined as inorganic, nonmetallic materials that exhibit such useful properties as…