Ceramics and Ceramic Composites ― Materialographic Preparation

Two scientists from the Max-Planck Institute for Metallurgy and two more from private industry present a guide to the whole process of characterizing ceramic material at the microscopic level, from preparing the specimen to interpreting the results. Particularly they provide fundamental information on preparing polished sections, including the main steps of sampling; sectioning; mounting and impregnation; and mechanical grinding, lapping, and polishing. Then they describe etching or contrast enhancement after final polishing to reveal the microstructure, and imaging in optical and scanning electron microscopes. The account is not indexed, and no information is provided about a possible earlier German edition. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)