plaster of Paris
Noun 1. A white powdery substance used for making casts and molds: Plaster of Paris is a specific type of building material and sculpting medium. It is a fine, white powder made from gypsum (calcium sulfate). When mixed with water, it forms a soft paste that sets and hardens into a solid, durable material relatively quickly. Its primary uses are in construction, art, and medicine for creating casts, molds, and sculptures.
- Noun:
- The artist used plaster of Paris to create a detailed mold of the sculpture.
- After breaking his arm, the doctor applied a cast made from plaster of Paris.
- For the science project, we made volcano models using plaster of Paris.
- "to set like plaster of Paris": This phrase is used metaphorically to describe something that becomes rigid, fixed, or unchangeable very quickly.
- Once his opinion was formed, it would set like plaster of Paris.
- Plaster (n/v): A broader term for a mixture, often with sand and lime, used for coating walls and ceilings. It can also refer to the act of applying such a mixture or a medical dressing. While "plaster of Paris" is a specific type of plaster, the general word "plaster" has wider applications.
- Gypsum (n): The natural mineral (calcium sulfate dihydrate) from which plaster of Paris is produced by heating.
- Cast (n): A rigid shell, often made from plaster of Paris, used to immobilize a broken bone.
- Calcium sulfate hemihydrate: The chemical name for plaster of Paris.
- Gypsum plaster: A more general technical term.
The term "plaster of Paris" originates from its large-scale historical production from the abundant gypsum found in the Montmartre district of Paris, France. Its key characteristic is its ability to undergo a chemical reaction with water (hydration) that causes it to harden, making it ideal for creating precise, solid forms from flexible molds or for setting broken bones.
- any of several gypsum cements; a white powder (a form of calcium sulphate) that forms a paste when mixed with water and hardens into a solid; used in making molds and sculptures and casts for broken limbs