Carolina Environmental Diversity Explorations

Clays of the Piedmont · By Dirk Frankenberg

Gas-fired kiln

a pottery kiln

Figure 14. A modern gas-fired kiln. (Photograph by the author. More about the photograph)

Figure 14 shows a modern gas-fired kiln in a year-round pottery. If you look closely inside the opening, you can see the remains of one of the ceramic temperature recorders (pyrometric cones) from a recent firing. The small white object on the fourth shelf down from the top has a curved extension on its left side. This was once vertical, but collapsed as it was heated to its melting point. These sacrificial temperature recorders assure the potter that the kiln reached its designated temperature during firing.

Definitions

kiln n.
Any of various ovens for hardening, burning, or drying substances such as grain, meal, or clay, especially a brick-lined oven used to bake or fire ceramics.
ceramic n.
Any of various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing a nonmetallic mineral, such as clay, at a high temperature; an object, such as earthenware, porcelain, or tile, made of ceramic.
pyrometric cone n.
A cone used to measure heat during the firing of ceramic materials in a kiln. The cones, often used in sets of three, are positioned in a kiln with the items to be fired and provide a visual indication of when the items have reached a required state of maturity, a combination of time and temperature.