CEMENT

CEMENT

Through the magic of man's imagination and mechanical genius, the nature-created bulk of mountains can be made into broad, smooth-riding highways, great bridges, towering skyscrapers, majestic cathedrals, massive dams. When you see a gleaming concrete structure, you may not realize that behind the seemingly commonplace material known as Portland cement, there is a fascinating story of putting a mountain through a sieve.

What is Portland Cement?

Portland cement is the basic ingredient of concrete the material formed by carefully proportioning and mixing Portland cement, sand, stone and water. The name "Portland" has nothing to do with Portland, Maine, or the largest city in Oregon. It was the name given by the English stonemason who invented hydraulic cement in 1824. He though that the cement looked like the natural stone quarried on the Isle of Portland. This inventor, Joseph Aspdin, was experimenting to produce a mortar that would harden under water. He achieved this by burning crushed limestone with clay or shale and pulverizing the resulting clinker like mass.