A bandage along with plaster is wrapped around the injured part. It is used to create safety soft bandages. et al’ (Publish in – US National Library of Medicine National Institute of Health), Plaster of Paris is widely used as bone graft substitute and to fill up bones defects.

Plaster of Paris is being used from the ancient times in the following fields till date, It was used to create some of the most important artworks of the Renaissance period, including Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel ceiling, which was painted on a thin layer of wet Plaster of Paris. POP is manufactured as a dry powder and is mixed with water to make a paste when used. Also Read: Gypsum Board: All You Need to Know! Types of Gypsum Board | All you Need to Know When water is added to plaster of paris, it returns to its original hard, rocklike form gypsum containing calcium sulphate and two molecules of water.

(Chemical name of POP is calcium Sulphate where Ca is the symbol for calcium and SO 4 is the symbol for sulphate, so CaSO 4 stands for calcium sulphate). The chemical notation of Plaster of Paris is CaSO 4– ½ H 2O. It is also possible to use a special form of plaster that is made with barium to help protect people from the radiation given off by x-ray machines.According to ‘ Walter Scarborough et al’ (Author of Building Construction – Principles, Materials, System), when POP is heated to remove 75% of its water, the resulting product is calcium sulphate hemihydrate (Hemi means “half”), referred to as plaster of Paris.

Casts that protect broken bones while they are healing have been made from plaster for hundreds of years, although fiberglass casts are more common today.

Plaster is also very often used in the medical industry. The great part is that plaster is a relatively inexpensive material to use for this type of project. In some cases, artists use this material as a part of the process of creating a mold that will later be used to cast metals, such as bronze. A statue or relief can be carved out of a block of this semi-hard material, or it can be poured into molds and allowed to harden into any shape of the artist’s choosing. It’s possible that certain types of stucco release small amounts of water when heated, allowing it to slow the spread of fire.Īrtists also commonly make great use of plaster. As a trim, a variety of different shapes or designs can be carved into plaster which easily add to the aesthetic quality of a building. Stucco, which is sprayed onto the outside of a building to give it texture, can also be made from plaster. This allows it to hold up over time, although the material soft enough that it can be shaped or carved with the use of tools. When it is dry, this material is relatively hard.

Though it forms a hard surface that is appropriate for interior walls and is ideal for sound-proofing, this type of plaster can be easily damaged and does not hold up well when exposed to outside elements.Īnother common use for plaster in construction is as a decorative trim. Plaster can be used on the inside of houses and other buildings to create an interior wall surface. In construction, one of the most common uses for plaster is as drywall. This is composed primarily of gypsum plaster. Use of this material can be found in a multitude of different industries, including construction, medicine, and art. Once it’s ground, the stone can be mixed with water to form a paste that will harden when it’s left exposed to the air. The material is created by grinding one of a few different types of stones, such as gypsum, into a powder. There are many different uses for plaster.

Uses for plaster