Forums » RP Discussion » Porcelain Cyborg? (Queries About Porcelain)

Context:
I was thinking about roleplay stuff when I was supposed to be sleeping, and came up with an idea for a character - a cyborg. I was thinking that the cyborg in question would be a courtesan of a powerful crime boss or a lieutenant of said crime boss and a part-time contract killer for him, and during his "official" jobs, he would be encased in a shiny white porcelain armor. (I heard it was shiny and tough, and me mind went "Ooh!")


Questions:

1. How sturdy is it? Can it be trusted not to crack under pressure?
2. How high a temperature can it withstand?
3. How much maintenance would the armor need, assuming it's made of porcelain that hasn't been modified by sciencey shenanigans?
4. Can you think of anything that might happen to the armor - could it be scratched, can it tarnish, etc.?
5. Is there anything you want to add that you think might be important to me later on?

Postcript:
(Sorry if this seems scattered - I'm a bit tired, and wanted to get all this out so I could read the results of this topic the next morning.)

Wow, I just want to be here as someone who RPs a lot about cyborgs, someone who knows too much about 1) rocks 2) people turning rocks into tea-drinking vessels. (This is a really neat idea by the way).

• Porcelain is hard, but it's brittle. It WILL shatter under pressure--in fact, when used as an armour, it's intended to shatter. That's how it diffuses kinetic energy.
• Pretty dang high! Porcelain can withstand 1,200 and 1,400 °C and for reference, here's an article exploring the possible average temperature of dragon's breath.
• Porcelain is made by sciency shenanigans, but I assume you mean full-of-impurities: Because porcelain, as an armour, works by shattering, it would constantly need to be replaced. It would require a kiln, likely moulds (slip-casts) for the pieces if they're not hand-moulded (in which case, a specialist--probably a specialist ANYHOW). Every time they take a blow, likely that piece would need to be replaced. Likely they'd have some metal skeleton under everything that the pieces 'attach' to and provide rigidity/movement.
• Porcelain tends to straight up shatter, although it still can just gather some cracks. The glaze will definitely crackle with age (a neat look, though). It won't scratch (it would have a Moh of about 6-7; very resistant to scratching--only the highest steel would have an effect, and if you're going something historic-fantasy, older steels would be laden with impurities that would make it softer). It can't really tarnish--maybe become a bit stained, and will hold onto stains more as the glaze crackles with age.
• Here's an article on ceramic armour to go over too. Modern uses, still relevant. Explains kinetics, etc.

I don't have anything more than the above to mention. I have lot soft porcelain dolls and they have broke VERY easily, barely withstanding 3 foot falls.

Also, matte glazed porcelain might be a better choice over shiny glazed porcelain, especially for armor.

Other types of ceramics could work. They line the bottom of shuttles and the military has ceramic ballistic plates that don't shatter.

Or maybe use some kind of polymer coating to make it less likely to shatter?

In short, ceramic is kind of like glass or in some cases stone. A bit tough but terribly brittle and fracture prone. If you're planning on making armor using it, I'ed suggest some sort of mechanical machine or system designed to replace the porcelain plates as they get damaged on the spot. Though I would just recommend just using a white colored porcelainy cermet for your character's armor, as that is a ceramic-metal alloy which is often used in metallurgy and in some cases armor which is usually designed to with stand high temperatures and be just as tough if not more than metal. that would be the simpler and more practical option, but hey, a mechanical arm designed to replace small porcelain plates along your character's body might make for an interesting appearance.