Bulk Materials

Specification Point 9.38C:

• Compare, using data, the physical properties of glass and clay ceramics, polymers, composites and metals

Glass Ceramics

• Usually made by heating limestone, sand and sodium carbonate.
• Transparent and strong but brittle, especially when in thin sheets.
• Can be moulded into shapes.
• Poor conductor of heat and electricity.

Clay Ceramics

• Usually made from decomposed rock.
• Opaque, soft and malleable when extracted from the ground.
• Hardened when heated to high temperatures, becomes brittle after heating.
• Poor conductor of heat and electricity.

Polymers

• Can be tailor designed to have specific properties for specific uses.
• Can be made opaque or transparent.
• Usually tough and flexible, some specialist polymers can be brittle.
• Poor conductor of heat and electricity.

Composites

• Made from two components: reinforcement and matrix.
• The matrix is what binds the reinforcement together.
• Common examples include fibreglass and steel reinforced concrete.

Diagram showing the structure of carbon fibre composite

Metals

• Shiny, malleable and ductile so can be hammered into different shapes.
• Can be mixed with other elements to form alloys, which have different properties to the elements they contain.
• Corrosion resistant metals can be produced which last longer than other metals.
• Good conductors of heat and electricity.