Book excerpt: This book covers the fundamental aspects of ceramics and refractories. All refractories are ceramics, but all ceramics are not refractories. The book classifies and describes these materials, and examines their availability in nature. It examines the availability of these materials in nature, how they are extracted from nature, and how some of these materials are synthesized, and explains their structure-property correlation. It also addresses how they are designed for various applications and more.