Discovery of silicon carbide (carborundum)
Descubrimiento del carburo de silicio (carborundo)
- Date
- 1891-1893 · confidence high
- Place
- Monongahela City, Pennsylvania, United States
- Credited to
- Edward Goodrich Acheson
- Field
- Matter & energy
What was discovered
While trying to make artificial diamonds by heating a mixture of clay (aluminium silicate) and powdered coke in an electric crucible, Edward Goodrich Acheson obtained in 1891 extremely hard bluish crystals of silicon carbide, which he patented in 1893 and marketed as an abrasive under the name carborundum.
The trade name 'carborundum' combined 'carbon' and 'corundum', alluding to its comparable hardness.
What it led to
- founding of the Carborundum Company and the modern abrasives industry
- replacement of natural abrasives such as corundum and emery
- later development of silicon carbide as a high-power semiconductor