Dense polycrystalline silicon carbide

A dense hot pressed electrically conducting silicon carbide ceramic body consisting essentially of silicon carbide, a boron additive selected from the group consisting of boron and boron carbide wherein the amount of the boron additive is equivalent to 0.3-3.0% by weight of boron, and sufficient nitrogen atoms accommodated in the lattice of said silicon carbide making said body electrically conducting with a room temperature resistivity ranging up to about 50 ohm centimeters, said boron additive being in solid solution with the silicon carbide, said ceramic body consisting of a fine grained substantially uniform microstructure, being substantially pore free, and having a density of at least 98% of the theoretical density for silicon carbide.