Many hits a chip makes

Dec 15, 2005 by Naomi.

A small chip appeared in the white enamel on my kitchen stove. How could that happen? I hit it with such a little bump. I didn’t hit it so hard that it should chip the pretty white porcelain. Did I ever hit that spot before? Probably. And then moaned with relief when it didn’t chip in that spot.

Repeated hits with heavy pans or utensils may not crack the enamel to the eye - but each hit does shatter the baked minerals on the microscopic level. Each succeeding hit spreads the shatter until there are so many hairline cracks that a seemingly gentle bump finally breaks it off.

Ceramics are funny that way. A glass shatters when dropped and the minerals fired at high temperatures react the same way - except the vitreous enamel is “dropped upon” instead of dropped. I am very unhappy with the tiny little chip. It doesn’t help that I understand the science - not one bit.

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