To heat a substance to a high temperature until it becomes ash, powder, or a crumbly residue, usually destroying its original structure.
From Latin 'calcinare', derived from 'calcis' (lime). The process was named after the old method of creating quicklime by heating limestone intensely.
When ancient potters calcined shells and bones to make white powders for decoration, they were unknowingly creating some of the first chemical transformations in human history!
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