Sialons – Ian Brown video clips
In this activity, students watch video clips of IRL research scientist Dr Ian Brown talking about sialons and then answer a series of graded questions related to the content.
What is sialon?
Sialon is an acronym for silicon, aluminium, oxygen and nitrogen. In this video, IRL’s Dr Ian Brown explains how this new family of advanced ceramics are made and discusses some of their physical properties. He then goes on to explain how subtle changes in the formulation can allow sialons to be made with properties that fit a particular product or market.
Point of interest
What types of properties would a sialon need that is made to service the body armour market?
Acknowledgements:
Adrian Hape
Bill F18E777
CeCILL
Derek
John Murphy
Isbi Armor
Pyrotek
By the end of this activity, students should be able to:
explain what sialons are
name the elements present in sialons
describe in simple terms the difference between a sialon and an O-Sialon
state some of the physical properties that characterise sialons
list some of the challenges that researchers in this area of advanced ceramic research face.
Download the Word file (see link below) for:
introduction/background notes
instructions on what you need and what to do
student worksheet.
