Based on the sintering conference held at the Pennsylvania State University, USA, this text presents advances in the application of sintering to the most important industrial materials. It offers results on both solid-state and microphase sintering as well as microstructure evolution, and introduces new applications, processes, materials and solutions to technical problems.

This Encyclopedia begins with an introduction summarizing itsscope and content. Glassmaking; Structure of Glass, GlassPhysics,Transport Properties, Chemistry of Glass, Glass and Light,Inorganic Glass Families, Organic Glasses, Glass and theEnvironment, Historical and Economical Aspect of Glassmaking,History of Glass, Glass and Art, and outlinepossible newdevelopments and uses as presented by the best known people in thefield (C.A. Angell, for example). Sections and chapters arearranged in a logical order to ensure overall consistency and avoiduseless repetitions. All sections are introduced by a briefintroduction and attractive illustration. Newly investigatedtopics will be addresses, with the goal of ensuring that thisEncyclopedia remains a reference work for years to come.

Ceramic fuel cells, commonly known as solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), have been under development for a broad range of electric power generation applications. The most attractive feature of the SOFC is its clean and efficient production of electricity from a variety of fuels. The SOFC has the potential to be manufactured and operated cost-effectively. The widening interest in this technology, thus, arises from the continuing need to develop cleaner and more efficient means of converting energy sources into useful forms. This topical book provides a comprehensive treatise on solid oxide fuel cells and succeeds successfully in filling the gap in the market for a reference book in this field. Directed towards scientists, engineers, and technical managers working with SOFCs as well as ceramic devices based on conducting materials, and in related fields, the book will also be invaluable as a textbook for science and engineering courses.

Pottery is the most ubiquitous find in most historical archaeological excavations and serves as the basis for much research in the discipline. But it is not only its frequency that makes it a prime dataset for such research, it is also that pottery embeds many dimensions of the human experience, ranging from the purely technical to the eminently symbolic. The aim of this book is to provide a cutting-edge theoretical and methodological framework, as well as a practical guide, for archaeologists, students and researchers to study ceramic assemblages. As opposed to the conventional typological approach, which focuses on vessel shape and assumed function with the main goal of establishing a chronological sequence, the proposed framework is based on the technological approach. Such an approach utilizes the concept of chaîne opératoire, which is geared to an anthropological interpretation of archaeological objects. The author offers a sound theoretical background accompanied by an original research strategy whose presentation is at the heart of this book. This research strategy is presented in successive chapters that are geared to explain not only how to study archaeological assemblages, but also why the proposed methods are essential for achieving ambitious interpretive goals. In the heated debate on the equation stating that “pots equal people”, which is a rather fuzzy reference to assumed relationships between (mostly) ethnic groups and pottery, technology enables us to propose with conviction the equation “pots equal potters”. In this way, a well-founded history of potters is able to achieve a much better cultural and anthropological understanding of ancient societies.​

The first comprehensive book to focus on ultra-high temperature ceramic materials in more than 20 years Ultra-High Temperature Ceramics are a family of compounds that display an unusual combination of properties, including extremely high melting temperatures (>3000°C), high hardness, and good chemical stability and strength at high temperatures. Typical UHTC materials are the carbides, nitrides, and borides of transition metals, but the Group IV compounds (Ti, Zr, Hf) plus TaC are generally considered to be the main focus of research due to the superior melting temperatures and stable high-melting temperature oxide that forms in situ. Rather than focusing on the latest scientific results, Ultra-High Temperature Ceramics: Materials for Extreme Environment Applications broadly and critically combines the historical aspects and the state-of-the-art on the processing, densification, properties, and performance of boride and carbide ceramics. In reviewing the historic studies and recent progress in the field, Ultra-High Temperature Ceramics: Materials for Extreme Environment Applications provides: Original reviews of research conducted in the 1960s and 70s Content on electronic structure, synthesis, powder processing, densification, property measurement, and characterization of boride and carbide ceramics. Emphasis on materials for hypersonic aerospace applications such as wing leading edges and propulsion components for vehicles traveling faster than Mach 5 Information on materials used in the extreme environments associated with high speed cutting tools and nuclear power generation Contributions are based on presentations by leading research groups at the conference "Ultra-High Temperature Ceramics: Materials for Extreme Environment Applications II" held May 13-19, 2012 in Hernstein, Austria. Bringing together disparate researchers from academia, government, and industry in a singular forum, the meeting cultivated didactic discussions and efforts between bench researchers, designers and engineers in assaying results in a broader context and moving the technology forward toward near- and long-term use. This book is useful for furnace manufacturers, aerospace manufacturers that may be pursuing hypersonic technology, researchers studying any aspect of boride and carbide ceramics, and practitioners of high-temperature structural ceramics.