Complete the account of firing.
The first firing, which converts clay to ceramic and leaves it porous, is the ______ firing. Silica changes crystal form at about ______ degrees, on the way up and again on the way down. A kiln starved of oxygen is firing in ______. Ceramics responds to heat ______ rather than to peak temperature alone.
Word bank: bisque · 573 · reduction · work · glaze · oxidation
Hints
- The second blank is the quartz inversion temperature.
- The last blank names temperature integrated over time.
Show the answer
The first firing, which converts clay to ceramic and leaves it porous, is the bisque firing. Silica changes crystal form at about 573 degrees, on the way up and again on the way down. A kiln starved of oxygen is firing in reduction. Ceramics responds to heat work rather than to peak temperature alone.
The last blank is the concept that makes the rest coherent. Two firings reaching the same peak by different schedules give different results, which is why a firing is specified as a schedule and measured with cones rather than named by a number.
Practise Firing
The app has 4 more questions on this lesson, and keeps your place in the course. Sculpture I is free to start.
More questions on Firing
- Why do pyrometric cones remain in use alongside electronic temperature control?
- Which are true of quartz inversion at about 573 degrees?
- The same glaze recipe produces the same colour regardless of kiln atmosphere.
- Sort each statement by whether it concerns the BISQUE firing or the GLAZE firing.
- A kiln firing is defined as an entire schedule rather than reaching a single peak temperature. What practical…
- At approximately what temperature, in degrees Celsius, does quartz inversion occur?
- Match each firing atmosphere or concept to what it means.
- Arrange the stages of a firing schedule in order.
- A body bisque-fired too high may fail to absorb glaze properly.