Some History

Abstract

In this chapter we present a brief history of ceramics and glasses. Because of the length of time over which they have been important to human existence it would be possible, indeed it has been done, to fill entire volumes on this one topic. We do not have the luxury of spending so much time on any one topic but history is important. In ceramics, it helps if we understand why certain events/developments occurred and when and how they did. We are really interested in setting the scene for many of the subsequent chapters. The earliest ceramics that were used were flint and obsidian. These exhibit conchoidal fracture like many modern day ceramics, such as cubic zirconia and glasses. This property enabled very sharp edges to be formed, which were necessary for tools and weapons. During the latter period of the Stone Age (the Neolithic period) pottery became important. Clay is relatively abundant. When mixed with water, it can be shaped and then hardened by heating. We will describe the different types of pottery and how the ceramics industry developed in Europe. The Europeans were not responsible for many of the early inventions in pottery; they were mostly trying to copy Chinese and Near East ceramics. Europe’s contribution was to industrialize the process. We are also going to describe some of the major innovations in ceramics that occurred during the twentieth century, such as the float glass process, bioceramics, and the discovery of high-temperature superconductivity. These developments are important in defining the present status of the field and also give some indications of areas in which future innovations may occur. We will conclude the chapter by giving information about museums that have major collections of ceramic materials as well as listing the relevant professional societies.