Ceramics you do not expect

Ceramics: an apparently humble material, as ancient as the earth but able to face the most arduous challenges of modernity.

Knives, shuttles and brakes, the multiple uses of a millennial material

The art of ceramics is one of the oldest invented by man.

An art that dates back to the dawn of time, literally realized starting from a handful of dirt.

Over the centuries ceramics has been the protagonist of all phases of civilization, accompanying the meals of people with humble pottery or becoming a work of art for the courts and empires, without borders, in every corner of the world.

Space ceramics

When we think of ceramics we can think of all this, but this material has other, sometimes surprising, uses, above all thanks to the use of increasingly sophisticated technologies.

In this case it is about ceramics with particular characteristics, which can be used in extreme situations, for example in space technology.

With a hardness in the Vickers scale between 13 and 17 (think that the steel reaches 10) and the possibility of being used at a temperature that can reach up to 2000 degrees Celsius, the ceramic has been used for components of the engines plane, workshop wheels and even for the “tiles” used for the external protection of the famous Shuttle.

Ceramics and F1

Another recent use of ceramics concerns the automotive industry: mixed with carbon, it is an innovative component for brake discs, particularly useful for situations where the brake itself is overworked, for example in Formula 1 races.

Among the most common uses of these technologically advanced ceramic materials there is undoubtedly the knives industry.

A ceramic blade does not rust, does not stain, is more resistant to washing, does not interfere with the taste of food and the wire remains sharp at least 10 times more.

When ceramics saves life

Ceramics have long been used in dental prosthetics and in many other fields of health technology. If metal was used primarily before 1925, with the improvement of surgical techniques, the use of so-called bioceramics was preferred.

The idea of ​​using biocompatible materials came as a result of the many cases of rejection of prostheses by soldiers injured during the war in Vietnam, and led to the birth of a product called “bioglass”, ancestor of modern bioceramics.

Bioceramics is also used for the manufacture of pacemakers, dialysis machines and respirators.

To infinity and beyond

Naturally at Geometrie you will not find a Shuttle … but not even prostheses, knives or airplane engines: here, in our shop ceramics are objects of art and craftsmanship, an instrument to express our creativity, create original works, or to insert ourselves in the wake of the great tradition of Italian ceramics, for example the one developed in the Montelupo’s tradition.

But it fascinates us to think of all the incredible practical applications of this only apparently humble material, as ancient as the earth but able to face the most arduous challenges of modernity.