Cleavage

Cleavage

Cleavage, tendency of a crystalline substance to split into fragments bounded by plane surfaces. Although cleavage surfaces…
Silicon carbide

Silicon carbide

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

Phosphorus

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

Cast iron

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