Cement is any binder, a substance that sets and hardens and can bind other materials together. The word “cement” has its origin from the Roman term opus caementicium, used to describe masonry that was made from crushed rock with burnt lime as binder. The volcanic ash and pulverized brick supplements that were added to the burnt lime, to obtain a hydraulic binder, were later referred to as cementum, cimentum, cäment, and cement resembling modern concrete.
Cements used in construction can be distinguished as hydraulic or non-hydraulic, depending upon the ability of the cement to set in the presence of water.
Non-hydraulic cement will not set in wet conditions or underwater; rather, it sets as it dries and reacts with carbon dioxide in the air. It can be attacked by some aggressive chemicals after setting. This class of cement such as slaked lime (calcium hydroxide mixed with water), hardens by carbonation....
