conductive ceramics: Quick Facts

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Figure 1: Schematic diagram of a zirconia oxygen sensor used to monitor automobile exhaust gases. The sensor, approximately the size of a spark plug, is fitted into the exhaust manifold of an automobile engine. The thimble-shaped zirconia sensor, sandwiched between thin layers of porous platinum, is exposed on its interior to outside air and on its exterior to exhaust gas passing through slits in the sensor shield. The two platinum surfaces serve as electrodes, conducting a voltage across the zirconia that varies according to the difference in oxygen content between the exhaust gas and the outside air.

Figure 2D: The arrangement of copper, yttrium, oxygen, and barium ions in yttrium barium copper oxide (YBa2Cu3O7); an example of a superconducting ceramic crystal structure.

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