Why is cement a powder but when mixed with water, it is as hard as stone?

Cement is one of the most useful materials in the construction industry. Cement itself is a soft powder, but when mixed with water, it hardens, it can combine with sand or rubble to become a very solid solid object.

1. Cement is the main component of mortar and concrete.
2. Masonry mortar is a mixture of cement, sand and water.
3. Concrete is a type of mortar mixed with crushed rock.

Cement is one of the important materials in the construction industry.

Currently, cement is made by firing limestone, clay or mineral slag at high temperatures. The above must be heated until a sintered product shaped like glass, then pulverized.

When mixing water into cement powder, an extremely complex chemical reaction will occur, resulting in a water-insoluble artificial stone and high abrasion resistance .

So what happened to a chemical reaction? How hard does the cement become? This problem has not been solved by chemists so far.

In cement there are mainly four compounds. It is thought that after mixing water with these compounds, they will turn into crystals. The crystals are linked together, becoming a hard rock.

Surprisingly, right from the second and third century BC, the ancient Romans knew how to make a hard cement in the country. Their method is: mix volcanic ash with limestone powder. This is an outstanding dedication of the ancient Romans.

1. Scientists have successfully developed a new type of concrete that is less prone to cracking than conventional concrete
2. 10 ancient inventions are more than 1000 years ahead of their time