Not Just Any Other Thing

Abrasives are used to scratch against a rough surface to give it a smooth and polished finish. Used mainly by those who work in the industrial sector, abrasives are minerals and they can be natural or manufactured.

Here are the different types of abrasives:

• Natural abrasives – Natural abrasives are minerals that occur naturally in the environment. No manufacturing process is involved in the creation of these minerals. Natural minerals are known to make better sharpening stones than artificial minerals do, but recent advancements in technology have changed this somewhat. Examples of naturally-occurring minerals are sand, rouge, pumice dust, novaculite, diamond, emery and calcite.
• Artificial abrasives – These abrasives are manufactured, non-natural, and artificial. Some artificial minerals—for instance, zirconia alumina—are naturally occurring but are either too difficult and expensive to procure or insufficient in quantity. In this case the minerals are produced artificially and thus are classified as manufactured minerals. Examples of artificial minerals are silicon carbide, glass powder, dry ice, corundum, ceramic and borazon.

This Much is True

Few people, other than those who work directly in the manufacturing industry, know where abrasives come from or much about their use. But abrasives are important to society—this much is true. Without abrasives, we wouldn’t have furniture with smooth finishes, fine and polished exteriors, or appliances with reflective surfaces.