APPLICATIONS

Mechanical
Although glass and ceramics are brittle, they can be surprisingly strong and are often used as mechanical components. In most applications the applied loads are low and the materials are used for their other properties such as transparency, electrical or vacuum performance.

Examples include:

Calibration standard
The standard was made of zero thermal expansion glass ceramic so that it would be mechanically unaffected by temperature changes

Precision ceramic balls are used as physical calibration standards

Quartz bearing rods
Ground and polished rods were used in a high accuracy bearing system because quartz has a very low coefficient of thermal expansion

Body armour
Alumina plates are used in personal body armour

Element holders
Ceramic performs well at high temperature and is used for holding electrical elements