vitrification

Etymology

From Late Latin *vitrificātio (“glassification”), from *vitrificāre (“to glassify”), from vitrum (“glass”) + -ificāre (“-ify”). Cf. French vitrification, Spanish vitrificación, Italian vitrificazion.

noun

1. (usually uncountable) The action or process of vitrifying a material: conversion into a glass-like amorphous solid free of any crystalline structure by addition or removal of heat or by mixture with an additive.
   At this point overfiring begins, as is shown particularly by the volume curve, which indicates decided bloating, so that at 1450°C the clay has about the same volume it had at 1050°C before vitrification took place. 1919, United States. Bureau of Standards, Technologic Papers of the Bureau of Standards, Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, page 15
2. (countable) An instance of such conversion.
3. (countable) The result of such conversion: a vitrified substance or object.