Silicon carbide
hideSilicon carbide (SiC), also known as carborundum, is a compound of silicon and carbon with a chemical formula SiC. It occurs in nature as the extremely rare mineral moissanite. Silicon carbide powder has been mass-produced since 1893 for use as an abrasive. Grains of silicon carbide can be bonded together by sintering to form very hard ceramics which are widely used in applications requiring high endurance, such as car brakes and ceramic plates in bulletproof vests. Electronic applications of silicon carbide as light emitting diode and detector in early radios have been demonstrated around 1907, and nowadays SiC is widely used in high-temperature semiconductor electronics. Large single crystals of silicon carbide can be grown by the Lely method; they can be cut into gems known as "synthetic moissanite". Silicon carbide with high surface area can be produced from SiO2 contained in plant material.
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News tagged with silicon carbide
Tension in the nanoworld: Infrared light visualizes nanoscale strain fields
Jan 12, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A joint team of researchers at CIC nanoGUNE (San Sebastian, Spain) and the Max Planck Institutes of Biochemistry and Plasma Physics (Munich, Germany) report the non-invasive and nanoscale ...
Tension in the nanoworld
Jan 23, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A joint team of researchers at CIC nanoGUNE (San Sebastian, Spain) and the Max Planck Institutes of Biochemistry and Plasma Physics (Munich, Germany) report the non-invasive and nanoscale ...
ORMatE returns to NRL after nearly 2 years in Earth orbit
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Sep 30, 2009 |
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Completing an 18-month mission orbiting the Earth more than 6,000 times on-orbit the International Space Station (ISS), the Optical Reflector Material Experiment (ORMatE-1) returns to Washington, D.C., to ...
Fitting squares into circles
Jun 25, 2009 |
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Particle filters are standard in the basic fittings for cars. Construction machines, city buses and garbage trucks must now follow suit. This can be achieved effectively and inexpensively thanks to a new material ...
ESA to launch two large observatories to look deep into space and time
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
May 07, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Two of the most sophisticated astronomical spacecraft ever built - Herschel and Planck - will be launched by ESA this month towards deep space orbits around a special observation point beyond ...
