what is the difference between porcelain and ceramic?

Answer 1

porcelain is a type of ceramic, just like a labrador is a type of dog. There are various different kinds of ceramic material, such as porcelain, stoneware, bone china. All contain slightly different ingredients or different amounts of ingredients.
you can get some info from
http://www.thepotteries.org/types/index.htm

Answer 2

Here's the difference and the only difference:

• Porcelain is a clay tile manufactured from light colored clay — white, cream, tan, gray or light brown.

• Ceramic is a clay tile is made from a red or terracotta clay.

That's it. The only difference between the two is the composition of the clay they are made from.

Porcelain tile is not better, harder, more durable, more scratch resistant or even necessarily more expensive than ceramic tile; and if you paid more for a tile because it said "porcelain" on the box, you've just been had by a marketing trick that predates the Roman Empire. There is no generally accepted standard that distinguishes porcelain from ceramic tile for durability, longevity, clarity or water-resistance — although many manufacturers maintain their own internal standards. Tile is not "rated" porcelain, it is merely called "porcelain" by its manufacturer.

Porcelain and ceramic are both fired tiles. They start out as a clay mix, then are heated to a very high temperature in a kiln using a process at least 3,000 years old. Not every kind of clay can be used. Tile clay typically contains a high proportion of a mineral called kaolinite or "china clay". Pure kaolinite is bright white, but most natural deposits of kaolinite are red, orage or brown due to high concentrations of iron oxide Lighter concentrations result in yellow, tan or light orange deposits. Most kaolinite is red, terra-cotta or brown. Yellow and tan deposits are much rarer, and white rarest of all.

The "firing" drives out water and crystallizes some of the molecules in the clay. This makes the tiles harder and more water-resistant. How much clay is crystallized depends on how long and how hot the tile is fired. If fired hot for a long time, more water is driven out and more crystallization occurs, resulting in a denser, harder product less able to absorb water. These are the factors on which tile is actually rated. And it makes no difference whether the tile is called porcelain or ceramic. Relative hardness is important because a hard tile is less likely to wear and less likely to break. Water absorption is also important because the more water-resistant a tile, the more diverse applications it has. These distinctions do not necessarily make a tile better or worse than another, they merely determine where and how a tile may be used.

Answer 3

*******Vericifacation for answer*********
**********Below Link ************

http://starcraftcustombuilders.com/porcelain.or.ceramic.htm
Here's the difference and the only difference:

• Porcelain is a clay tile manufactured from light colored clay — white, cream, tan, gray or light brown.

• Ceramic is a clay tile is made from a red or terracotta clay.

That's it. The only difference between the two is the composition of the clay they are made from.