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The Grapes of Wrath vocabulary
75 vocabulary words, including people, places, music, artists, etc.
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carborundum
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synonyms: silicon carbide, SiC ???
► definition
Definition:Silicon carbide: a semiconductor containing silicon and carbon. It occurs in nature as the extremely rare mineral moissanite. Synthetic SiC powder has been mass-produced since 1893 for use as an abrasive. Grains of silicon carbide can be bonded together by sintering to form very hard ceramics that are widely used in applications requiring high endurance, such as car brakes, car clutches and ceramic plates in bulletproof vests. Electronic applications of silicon carbide such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and detectors in early radios were first demonstrated around 1907. SiC is used in semiconductor electronics devices that operate at high temperatures or high voltages, or both.[...]Because natural moissanite is extremely scarce, most silicon carbide is synthetic. Silicon carbide is used as an abrasive, as well as a semiconductor and diamond simulant of gem quality.text: from Wikipedia, licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
photo: by Steve Karg, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Generic license, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/deed.en
► uses
Uses:
Noah from a box in the kitchen, brought out the bow-bladed butchering knife and whetted it on a worn little carborundum stone.
John Steinbeck. The Grapes of Wrath, p.113 (1939)
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