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Why can china tableware have high strength and low water absorption?

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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.

China tableware achieves its high strength and low water absorption primarily due to its high glass content, which results from the process of vitrification.1

In the ceramics industry, china is classified as a vitreous whiteware. During the manufacturing process, the raw materials—typically a triaxial mixture of clay, silica, and feldspar—are fired at high temperatures, generally between 1,250 and 1,300 °C (2,300 to 2,400 °F).1

At these temperatures, the feldspar acts as a fluxing agent, melting to form a viscous liquid that reacts with surrounding clay and silica particles. This reaction creates a glassy phase that fills the pores between the crystalline components, effectively sealing the material and rendering it impervious to fluids. This high degree of vitrification is what gives china its characteristic low water absorption and structural strength.12