Ideas that stand the test of time often have modest beginnings.
The ACerS/NIST Phase Equilibria Diagram database is a case in point. The seed for today’s collection of nearly 25,000 diagrams was an October 1933 article published in the Journal of the American Ceramic Society, making the collection 79 years old.
The paper is “A compilation of phase-rule diagrams of interest to the ceramics and silicate technologist,” by F.P. Hall and Herbert Insley. The text portion of the article reviews the phase rule, experimental methods and interpretation, covering topics such as crystallization, solid solutions, and so on. In all, 178 diagrams were published of one-, two- and three-component systems.
Anybody have a guess of what the only one-component diagram was in this set?
From the very beginning, the phase diagram database has enjoyed a close collaboration with the National Bureau of Standards, and the authors take care to note at the start that the article was approved by the director of the National Bureau of Standards. ACerS is pleased and proud to continue this tradition with NIST.
The ACerS/NIST Phase Diagrams database now has nearly 25,000 phase diagrams of interest to ceramic scientists and is available in several formats to meet your individual or institution’s needs, including CD, online subscription and single diagram purchase. Visit the ACerS website to download a demonstration of the database and learn more about the features of the database.
And, finally, does anybody have a guess as to how many one-component diagrams are in today’s database?
(I will award beautiful ACerS’ mugs to whoever can be the first to answer the above questions. I will reveal the answers and the winners next Tuesday.)