| Technological Innovation in Ceramics: History of Pottery to Ceramic Industries |
| Junichi HOJO |
| Kyushu University |
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Keywords: Pottery, Porcelain, New ceramics, Fine ceramics, Technology
According to progress of human civilization, ceramic products have been developed as fundamental materials supporting our life and industrial activities. Ceramics have been fabricated by using natural resources consisting of silicate compounds including silica and alumina, which are easily mined on the surface of earth crust and consolidated by firing. That is to say, it is a generally-generated technology since human family received fire in hand. Ceramic wares are supposed to have started in Yin dynasty of China (B. C. ca. 1400), and have been developed from clay pot to pottery and then porcelain. The ceramic technologies were transferred from China to Korea and Japan. After then, original technologies have been developed in Japan. The typical one is Arita porcelain. Furthermore, the ceramic technologies were transferred to European countries and progressed to new porcelains, such as hard porcelain in Meissen, Germany and bone china in England. The western technologies were back-transferred to Japan in the early Meiji period (before 1900) and opened ceramic industries. Now, the ceramics have been developed to new ceramics and fine ceramics.
The ceramics technologies have been supported by progress in powder preparation and firing techniques. Potter¡¯s wheel contributed to improve the productivity and climbing kiln enabled the high-temperature firing to produce porcelains. Coal-firing furnace was developed in Europe and brought a great contribution to ceramics production. Traditional ceramics, such as table and sanitary wares, refractory etc., have been produced by using natural resources at low temperature and normal pressure. New ceramics mean the use of new raw materials such as synthesized oxide and artificial non-oxides (carbide, nitride, boride). The industrial porcelain is supposed to have started from suspension insulator with high strength and electrical resistance, which was enabled by highly-pure oxide. To produce new ceramics, new fabrication techniques have been developed, ex., high temperature and pressure processes, CVD, PVD, sol-gel and so on. Fine ceramics mean the precise control of composition and microstructure, and shape control like nanoparticle, nanofiber, nanofilm and so on, to create new functions. The history of ceramics from pottery and porcelain will be discussed with emphasis on the relation to new industry innovation. |
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