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How are earthenware, stoneware, china, and porcelain classified by vitrification?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Stages in the slip casting of a thin-walled whiteware container. Clay powder is mixed in water together with a dispersing agent, which keeps the clay particles suspended evenly throughout the clay-water slurry, or slip. The slip is poured into a plaster mold, where water is drawn out by capillary action and a cast is formed by the deposition of clay particles on the inner surfaces of the mold. The remaining slip is drained, and the cast is allowed to dry partially before the drain hole is plugged and the mold separated. The unfinished ware is given a final drying in an oven before it is fired into a finished product.
traditional ceramics Stages in the slip casting of a thin-walled whiteware container. Clay powder is mixed in water together with a dispersing agent, which keeps the clay particles suspended evenly throughout the clay-water slurry, or slip. The slip is poured into a plaster mold, where water is drawn out by capillary action and a cast is formed by the deposition of clay particles on the inner surfaces of the mold. The remaining slip is drained, and the cast is allowed to dry partially before the drain hole is plugged and the mold separated. The unfinished ware is given a final drying in an oven before it is fired into a finished product.

In the ceramics industry, products are classified into three main categoriesā€”porous, semivitreous, and vitreousā€”based on their degree of vitrification and resulting porosity.1

  • Earthenware: This is a nonvitreous material characterized by medium porosity. Because it is not vitrified, it is coarser than other ceramic materials and typically requires glazing to become impermeable to fluids.12
  • Stoneware: This is a semivitreous or vitreous material with a fine microstructure. It is formed by firing clay with substances that vitrify at lower temperatures, resulting in a nonporous, opaque body.12
  • China: This is a vitreous whiteware intended for nontechnical applications. It is characterized by high glass content, which provides significant strength, impact resistance, and low water absorption.1
  • Porcelain: These are vitreous, nonporous materials. While all vitreous whitewares are sometimes called porcelains, the term specifically refers to fine-grained, often translucent bodies. Technical porcelains are valued for their chemical inertness and electrical insulation, while true porcelains are distinguished by their specific composition of kaolin and feldspathic rock.13

The distinction between stoneware and porcelain is often descriptive rather than definitive, as the line between them can be vague.23