question: how can things be ceramic coated? Isn't ceramic a clay? How can it be a coating for kitchenware?
comment: Ceramics are a class of materials. The ceramic you are thinking of is a ceramic not the Ceramic. Think of it that way: iron is a metal, as is copper. A metal pot doesn't have to be made from iron. The definition of ceramic is "a solid material comprising an inorganic compound of metal, non-metal or metalloid atoms primarily held in ionic and covalent bonds." The cookware ceramic are usually clay based. There are different ones that are very different chemically. The technical ceramics in coatings are not clay based. Reading the other comments, in the dishwater the ceramics don't brake down. However the connection between the ceramics and the steel is quite fragile. You get tiny flakes of ceramics that brake off and are washed away.
passages: Section::::Classes of solids.:Composite materials.
  
  Composite materials contain two or more macroscopic phases, one of which is often ceramic. For example, a continuous matrix, and a dispersed phase of ceramic particles or fibers.
   Section::::Processing.
  
  Technically, ceramics are composed of raw materials such as powders and natural or synthetic chemical additives, favoring either compaction (hot, cold or isostatic), setting (hydraulic or chemical), or accelerating sintering processes. According to the formulation and shaping process used, bioceramics can vary in density and porosity as cements, ceramic depositions, or ceramic composites.
   Ceramic
  
  A ceramic ( — , "potter's", from  — , "potter's clay") is a solid material comprising an inorganic compound of metal, non-metal or metalloid atoms primarily held in ionic and covalent bonds. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain, and brick.
   BULLET::::- Partially stabilised zirconia (PSZ) is much less brittle than other ceramics and is used for metal forming tools, valves and liners, abrasive slurries, kitchen knives and bearings subject to severe abrasion.
  
  Section::::Products.
  
  Section::::Products.:By usage.
  
  For convenience, ceramic products are usually divided into four main types; these are shown below with some examples:
  
  BULLET::::- Structural, including bricks, pipes, floor and roof tiles
  
  BULLET::::- Refractories, such as kiln linings, gas fire radiants, steel and glass making crucibles
  
  BULLET::::- Whitewares, including tableware, cookware, wall tiles, pottery products and sanitary ware
   Substantial interest has arisen in recent years in fabricating ceramic composites. While there is considerable interest in composites with one or more non-ceramic constituents, the greatest attention is on composites in which all constituents are ceramic. These typically comprise two ceramic constituents: a continuous matrix, and a dispersed phase of ceramic particles, whiskers, or short (chopped) or continuous ceramic fibres. The challenge, as in wet chemical processing, is to obtain a uniform or homogeneous distribution of the dispersed particle or fibre phase.
   Ceramic materials may have a crystalline or partly crystalline structure, with long-range order on atomic scale. Glass ceramics may have an amorphous or glassy structure, with limited or short-range atomic order. They are either formed from a molten mass that solidifies on cooling, formed and matured by the action of heat, or chemically synthesized at low temperatures using, for example, hydrothermal or sol-gel synthesis.
   Ceramic (disambiguation)
  
  A ceramic is an inorganic, nonmetallic solid material comprising metal, nonmetal or metalloid atoms primarily held in ionic and covalent bonds.
  
  Ceramic may also refer to:
  
  Section::::Objects.
  
  BULLET::::- Ceramic art, art made from ceramic materials
  
  BULLET::::- Ceramic building material, an umbrella term used in archaeology to cover all building materials made from baked clay
  
  BULLET::::- Ceramic capacitor, an electronic component with ceramic dielectric
  
  BULLET::::- Ceramic heater, a space heater with a ceramic heating element
  
  BULLET::::- Ceramic knife, a knife with a ceramic blade
  
  Section::::Other uses.
  
  BULLET::::- Ceramic, North Carolina, a ghost town in the US
   Ceramic engineering is the science and technology of creating solid-state ceramic materials, parts and devices. This is done either by the action of heat, or, at lower temperatures, using precipitation reactions from chemical solutions. The term includes the purification of raw materials, the study and production of the chemical compounds concerned, their formation into components, and the study of their structure, composition and properties.
   The word ""ceramic"" comes from the Greek word (), "of pottery" or "for pottery", from (), "potter's clay, tile, pottery". The earliest known mention of the root "ceram-" is the Mycenaean Greek , "workers of ceramics", written in Linear B syllabic script. The word "ceramic" may be used as an adjective to describe a material, product or process, or it may be used as a noun, either singular, or, more commonly, as the plural noun "ceramics".
  
  Section::::Materials.
   One way in which fabrics can be impregnated with ceramic is the process of electrophoretic deposition or EPD in the industry. In this process, nanoceramic particles are put into a solution in which the fabric to be infiltrated will be placed. The solution is then heated to high temperatures and the fabric is placed into the solution. Next, a current is passed through and the nano ceramic particles coat and impregnate the fabric. The pH level as well as the amount of time and amount of current can affect how well the fabric is infiltrated and how it is coated. Other processing methods can be further broken down into what particles will be added. There are two distinct groups: 
   Ceramography is the art and science of preparation, examination and evaluation of ceramic microstructures. Evaluation and characterization of ceramic microstructures is often implemented on similar spatial scales to that used commonly in the emerging field of nanotechnology: from tens of angstroms (A) to tens of micrometers (µm). This is typically somewhere between the minimum wavelength of visible light and the resolution limit of the naked eye.
   Other techniques involve threading animal or artificial wool fiber through paperclay slip, to build up layers of material. The result can be wrapped over forms or cut, dried and later joined with liquid and soft paperclay.
   BULLET::::- Porcelain, which contains a high content of kaolin
  
  BULLET::::- Bone china
  
  Section::::Products.:Classification.
  
  Ceramics can also be classified into three distinct material categories: 
  
  BULLET::::- Oxides: alumina, beryllia, ceria, zirconia
  
  BULLET::::- Non-oxides: carbide, boride, nitride, silicide
  
  BULLET::::- Composite materials: particulate reinforced, fiber reinforced, combinations of oxides and nonoxides.
  
  Each one of these classes can be developed into unique material properties because ceramics tend to be crystalline.
  
  Section::::Applications.
  
  BULLET::::- Knife blades: the blade of a ceramic knife will stay sharp for much longer than that of a steel knife, although it is more brittle and susceptible to breaking.
   The ultimate microstructure (and thus the physical properties) of the final product will be limited by and subject to the form of the structural template or precursor which is created in the initial stages of chemical synthesis and physical forming. Hence the importance of chemical powder and polymer processing as it pertains to the synthesis of industrial ceramics, glasses and glass-ceramics.
   Besides many process improvements, the first of two major needs for fibre composites is lower fibre costs. The second major need is fibre compositions or coatings, or composite processing, to reduce degradation that results from high-temperature composite exposure under oxidizing conditions.
  
  Section::::Applications.
  
  The products of technical ceramics include tiles used in the Space Shuttle program, gas burner nozzles, ballistic protection, nuclear fuel uranium oxide pellets, bio-medical implants, jet engine turbine blades, and missile nose cones.
  
  Its products are often made from materials other than clay, chosen for their particular physical properties. These may be classified as follows:
   Noncrystalline ceramics, being glass, tend to be formed from melts. The glass is shaped when either fully molten, by casting, or when in a state of toffee-like viscosity, by methods such as blowing into a mold. If later heat treatments cause this glass to become partly crystalline, the resulting material is known as a glass-ceramic, widely used as cook-tops and also as a glass composite material for nuclear waste disposal.
  
  Section::::Properties.
   Crystalline ceramic materials are not amenable to a great range of processing. Methods for dealing with them tend to fall into one of two categories – either make the ceramic in the desired shape, by reaction "in situ", or by "forming" powders into the desired shape, and then sintering to form a solid body. Ceramic forming techniques include shaping by hand (sometimes including a rotation process called "throwing"), slip casting, tape casting (used for making very thin ceramic capacitors), injection molding, dry pressing, and other variations. 
  
  Section::::Materials.:Noncrystalline ceramics.
   Compacted oxide layer glaze
  
  Compacted oxide layer glaze describes the often shiny, wear-protective layer of oxide formed when two metals (or a metal and ceramic) are slid against each other at high temperature in an oxygen-containing atmosphere. The layer forms on either or both of the surfaces in contact and can protect against wear.
  
  Section::::Background.
   Ceramic decal
  
  A ceramic decal is a transfer system that is used to apply pre-printed images or designs to ceramic tableware, ornamental ware and tiles, and glass containers.
  
  A decal typically comprises three layers: the color, or image, layer which comprises the decorative design; the covercoat, a clear protective layer, which may incorporate a low-melting glass; and the backing paper on which the design is printed by screen printing or lithography. There are various methods of transferring the design while removing the backing-paper, some of which are suited to machine application.
   Most natural (or biological) materials are complex composites whose mechanical properties are often outstanding, considering the weak constituents from which they are assembled. These complex structures, which have risen from hundreds of million years of evolution, are inspiring the design of novel materials with exceptional physical properties for high performance in adverse conditions. Their defining characteristics such as hierarchy, multifunctionality, and the capacity for self-healing, are currently being investigated.
   BULLET::::- Lithography, also called litho, although the alternative names of transfer print or ""decal"" are also common. These are used to apply designs to articles. The litho comprises three layers: the colour, or image, layer which comprises the decorative design; the cover coat, a clear protective layer, which may incorporate a low-melting glass; and the backing paper on which the design is printed by screen printing or lithography. There are various methods of transferring the design while removing the backing-paper, some of which are suited to machine application.
   The earliest ceramics made by humans were pottery objects (i.e. "pots" or "vessels") or figurines made from clay, either by itself or mixed with other materials like silica, hardened and sintered in fire. Later ceramics were glazed and fired to create smooth, colored surfaces, decreasing porosity through the use of glassy, amorphous ceramic coatings on top of the crystalline ceramic substrates. Ceramics now include domestic, industrial and building products, as well as a wide range of ceramic art. In the 20th century, new ceramic materials were developed for use in advanced ceramic engineering, such as in semiconductors.
   Ceramic engineering
  
  Ceramic engineering is the science and technology of creating objects from inorganic, non-metallic materials. This is done either by the action of heat, or at lower temperatures using precipitation reactions from high-purity chemical solutions. The term includes the purification of raw materials, the study and production of the chemical compounds concerned, their formation into components and the study of their structure, composition and properties.
   Ceramic cookware (as in pans, not baking dishes) is not made of a solid ceramic, but rather is a metal pan, typically aluminum, with a nano-particle ceramic coating. This makes the surface rough on a small-scale and causes solutions to bead up more and not stick to the surface.
  
  The downside is that the increased surface area means less surface contact with the food that is to be cooked and therefore has less heat transfer. Unfortunately, since the surface is fine, it can be scratched off over time, and the benefit from having it in the first place is lost.
   BULLET::::- Kaolin, is sometimes referred to as china clay because it was first used in China. Used for porcelain.
  
  BULLET::::- Ball clay An extremely plastic, fine grained sedimentary clay, which may contain some organic matter. Small amounts can be added to porcelain bodies to increase plasticity.
  
  BULLET::::- Fire clay A clay having a slightly lower percentage of fluxes than kaolin, but usually quite plastic. It is highly heat resistant form of clay which can be combined with other clays to increase the firing temperature and may be used as an ingredient to make stoneware type bodies.
  
presuppositions: Ceramics are all clay. Ceramic is a clay.
corrections: Ceramics are a class of material that includes inorganic compounds of metal, non-metal or metalloid atoms. Ceramics are a class of materials, some are clay based, but ceramics used for coatings are not.
raw_presuppositions: Ceramics are all clay. Ceramic is a clay.
raw_corrections: Ceramics are a class of material that includes inorganic compounds of metal, non-metal or metalloid atoms. Ceramics are a class of materials, some are clay based, but ceramics used for coatings are not.