This book provides an introduction to the structural ceramics, their processing and properties. Five important groups of materials, porcelain, alumina, silicon carbide, silicon nitride and zirconia, are presented as case studies. Historical developments, the properties of constituent components, and relationships between production methods, resulting microstructures, and materials properties, are explained. The structural ceramics have many commercial applications, ranging from high voltage insulation and hot-gas filtration, to metal machining tools and surgical implants. These applications...