Materials
Silicon Carbide
kar-buh-RUN-dum (for the trade name Carborundum)
Also Known As Carborundum
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Silicon carbide, also called carborundum, is an extremely hard compound of silicon and carbon that occurs naturally only in trace amounts but has been mass-produced since Edward Goodrich Acheson achieved wide-scale synthesis in 1891. Sintered into ceramics, it withstands heavy wear and high temperature, and its own semiconducting behavior has made it useful in high-power electronics as well as abrasives.
Facts
Primary UseAbrasives and cutting grit, and sintered into hard ceramics for disc brakes, clutches and ballistic plates. 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
Silicon carbide is a wide-bandgap semiconductor increasingly used alongside and in place of silicon in power electronics, where it tolerates higher voltages, temperatures and switching frequencies.
In Field
Sources
1. Silicon Carbide (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationHistory, Wide-scale production sectionQuote, History, Wide-scale production section
Wide-scale production is credited to Edward Goodrich Acheson in 1891.
1. Silicon Carbide (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationLead sectionQuote, Lead section
Grains of silicon carbide can be bonded together by sintering to form very hard ceramics that are widely used in applications requiring high endurance, such as disc brakes, clutches and ballistic plates.
1. Silicon Carbide (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationIntroductionQuote, Introduction
Silicon carbide (SiC), also known as carborundum, is a hard chemical compound of silicon and carbon.
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