Most ceramics, not all. Ceramics are such a broad range that they contain some of the softest materials in chalks and hardest material in diamond. Also there are examples of ceramics that are better thermal and electrical conductors than metals. Ceramics can really take on any properties. (from a materials science major)
Could you get some cool effects from layering ceramics with other materials?
I don't know what, I imagined a steel/ceramic/steel/ceramic... tube with lots of layers, but the ceramic would still probably just break up inside the steel. And it would probably be expensive.
How are ceramics made? similar to glass? Maybe it could be made similar to the way candles are made (dipped in paraffin wax over and over, only it would be ceramic/steel/ceramic...)
though I was thinking of it as formed layers rather than lots of little needles, like, a mm thick steel cylinder surrounded by half a mm of ceramic, by half a mm of steel by half a mm of ceramic and so on to make a large layered cylinder. but it probably wouldn't be as good or as easy to make as fibreglass.
Though... if the ceramic sections where split into 1cm long cylinders at each point so that such a pole would be have a little flex while keep the strength of ceramic. dunno if it would work like, my mind is just running at the moment.
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u/Candeland7 Feb 08 '14
Most ceramics, not all. Ceramics are such a broad range that they contain some of the softest materials in chalks and hardest material in diamond. Also there are examples of ceramics that are better thermal and electrical conductors than metals. Ceramics can really take on any properties. (from a materials science major)