ceramika

Ceramika is the craft and science of making objects from inorganic non-metallic materials that are shaped and then fired at high temperatures. In Polish usage it encompasses pottery, porcelain, tiles, bricks, sanitaryware, and tableware, as well as technical ceramics used in industry and electronics. Ceramics are typically crystalline or partly crystalline and are produced from clay minerals and other earth-derived compounds.

Early ceramics date to the Neolithic, with pottery developed in several ancient cultures and kilns and wheels appearing in different regions. Chinese porcelain reached high quality during the Tang and Song dynasties, while in Europe maiolica and tin-glazed ware followed later. The Industrial Age expanded stoneware, glazed pottery, and, later, advanced ceramic technologies.

Raw materials include kaolinite clay, ball clay, feldspar, silica, and bone ash. Ceramic bodies are commonly classified as earthenware (low-fire, porous), stoneware (high-fire, vitreous), and porcelain (highly vitrified and often translucent). Bone china adds bone ash for whiteness and strength. Advanced ceramics include aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, zirconia, and silicon nitride, used for engineering, medical, and electronics applications.

Typical production stages are mixing and forming (hand-building, wheel throwing, slip casting, pressing or extrusion), drying, bisque firing, glaze application, and glaze firing. Some wares are decorated before firing or through post-firing techniques. Industrial ceramics often use automated forming, precise control of firing atmospheres, and quality testing.

Ceramics are hard and wear resistant, with high compressive strength and good chemical stability, but they are generally brittle. They are excellent electrical and thermal insulators and can withstand high temperatures. Common applications include tableware, tiles, bricks, sanitaryware, refractories, electronics substrates, catalysts supports, and biomedical implants.

Today ceramika reflects a division between traditional crafts and high-tech manufacturing. The field emphasizes sustainability, coatings and glazes, and the development of new ceramic materials with tailored properties for industry, medicine, and environmental applications.