作者：YASUNORI OKAMOTO;

作者单位：Kyoto Institute of Technology

刊名：Journal of the Technical Association of Refractories

ISSN：0285-0028

出版年：2003-01-05

卷：23

期：2

起页：78

止页：0

分类号：TQ175

语种：英文

关键词：

内容简介

Kinnosuke (Soseki) Natsume once wrote to Torahiko Terada from London, saying, "If you are to pursue an academic career, choose a cosmopolitan field, not something like English literature (my major), which is merely a silent force behind the scenes....Do your best in physics, your major." "Physics" as mentioned in this well-known letter can be replaced with science and technology at large. Whenever I think of refractory in the world of technology, the phrase "behind the scenes" comes to my mind. As we all know, mankind came to possess fire because of refractory. Now suppose I give a one-hour overview of the history of inorganic materials to a class of freshmen in college. It will go like this: "Almost all the inorganic materials are taken from our earth's crust, a thin layer less than one percent of the radius of the earth, and by and large, the earth's crust (and the voluminous mantle that lies underneath) consists of silicates.