Clay can be thought of in terms of geological raw material which is the foundation product for the firing in the kiln which produces terra cotta and ceramics.
Clay pot vs ceramic.
Clay is a type of ceramic but not all ceramics are made of clay.
Ceramic containers or stoneware are made from finely textured light colored clay and then glazed.
Clay is the natural raw natural material actually used in making terra cotta and ceramic pots.
Clay is created by the by the chemical weathering and geothermal alteration of igneous rocks into hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates.
Porous ceramic pots also called unglazed clay allow air and water movement through the sides of the pot.
That should give us a clue.
These containers are fired at a high kiln temperature which reduces the pot s porousness and vulnerability to the elements.
The commercially popular clay pot cooking sets are nowhere close to this one.
As nouns the difference between ceramic and clay is that ceramic is uncountable a hard brittle material that is produced through burning of nonmetallic minerals at high temperatures while clay is a mineral substance made up of small crystals of silica and alumina that is ductile when moist.
These go through a mechanized manufacturing process which necessarily uses chemicals.
Most often the precursor rock is a type of granite.
Clay and ceramic are often used to describe different materials for making pottery.
The other two words are an matter of subculture and semantics.
The material of pre fired ceramics.
Like terracotta pots they are made by firing clay in kilns but are then painted or glazed in decorative colors and designs.
Air movement stimulates root growth which results in healthier plants.
Clay is a natural material that comes from the ground and ceramics are various materials that harden when heated including clay.
The later is mostly made from ceramic clay a composition of stoneware porcelain or terracotta.
The word terra cotta itself means baked earth in italian.
They are also coated with chemical glazes and enamels.
For example clay has chemically bonded water in it which will cause it to slake down disintegrate when a dried clay object is put in water.
All clay is a ceramic material but there are other ceramic materials as well.
Glazed clay pots are somewhat of an intermediate between plastic and unglazed clay pots.
Once heated fired to between 660 and 1470 f 350 and 800 c the clay is converted to ceramic and will never dissolve again.