Carborundum (chemical formula SiC), also known as silicon carbide, is a mineral that is mainly produced synthetically. It occurs very rarely as a natu

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Carborundum (chemical formula SiC), also known as silicon carbide, is a mineral that is mainly produced synthetically. It occurs very rarely as a natural mineral, then named moissanite. As an industrial mineral it is mass-produced on a large scale and widely used as an abrasive. Other uses are in semiconductor devices and in the manufacture of very hard ceramics for body armour and brake discs of sports cars. Crystals of carborundum often display a chatoyant lustre. Size of specimen is 12 cm across.

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Keywords: abrasive, armour, body, brake, carbide, carborundum, cars, ceramics, chatoyance, chatoyant, crystalline, crystals, discs, hard, industrial, industry, luster, lustre, mineral, moissanite, silicon, sports, synthetic