Rubies and Implants

Dr. Bozena Arnold (formerly Boczek) is professor emerita of materials engineering at HAW Hamburg University of Applied Sciences and has many years of experience in imparting materials engineering knowledge.

A material that enchants us as ruby or sapphire and is applied in watches or lasers.

A material that gives us a better life in the form of implants.

A material that provides irreplaceable technical services with its hardness and heat resistance.

A fascinating material. Its name is aluminium oxide.

In this book you will find a lot of exciting and often astonishing information about this extraordinary material. First, the necessary facts about the substance aluminium oxide are given. Then the world of the gemstones ruby and sapphire is described. And finally, the world of alumina as well as technical ceramics is illuminated.

Fascinating alumina.- The alumina family.- Polymorphs and their amazing effects.- The inside of alumina.- A little excursion into etymology.- How were rubies and sapphires determined in the past?.- How are rubies and sapphires determined today?.- Corundum - the natural aluminum oxide.- How hard is corundum?.- Ruby - the red corundum.- Sapphire - the blue corundum.- Why is ruby red and sapphire blue?.- Why are only a few rubies and sapphires found?.- In a ruby factory.- Ruby and the history of lasers.- Rubies, sapphires and watches.- Sapphire in technology.-Alumina - the artificial alumina.- Bauxite and the way to artificial alumina.- The Bayer process - from bauxite to aluminum hydroxide.- The forgotten inventor.- Calcination - from aluminum hydroxide to aluminum oxide.- The world of ceramics.- Useful sintering technology.- Is alumina ceramics resilient?.- Advantages of alumina ceramics.- The ceramic all-rounder.- Hidden in a scanning electron microscope.- Even better in a composite.- Implants and no more hip joint complaints.- News from alumina.

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