Method for making aligned fibrous crystals

A method of producing a .beta.-CaSiO.sub.3 rod which comprises essentially aligned individual fibrous crystals displaying a silicate chain structure, said method comprising the successive steps of:

• 1. providing a rod of a siliceous material which when subjected to melting and drawing yields at its crystallization temperature a primary crystalline phase having a silicate chain structure, said siliceous material selected from the group consisting, by weight percent, of:
• a. CaO 30%, SiO.sub.2 50%, ZnO 20%;
• b. CaO 35%, SiO.sub.2 55%, ZnO 10%;
• c. CaO 26%, MgO 2%, Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 13%, SiO.sub.2 46%, ZnO 13%;
• and
• d. CaO 42.5%, SiO.sub.2 50%, Na.sub.2 O 7.5%;
• and
• 2. providing an orifice of a coil of metallic material;
• 3. drawing said rod through said metallic coil and heating said rod to form a melt which melt is both supported by and in contact with said heated metallic coil such that the melt crystallizes out in the form of aligned fibrous crystals;
• 4. drawing the rod and melt through said coil at a predetermined rate while concurrently:
• i. maintaining the melt in a molten condition as it is drawn through said heated coil by heating said coil, and
• ii. adjusting the rate of drawing to be within the speed of propagation of said crystalline phase through the melt, thereby
• forming .beta.-CaSiO.sub.3 fiberous crystals substantially continuously and in a substantially parallel relationship to both each other and the longitudinal axis of the rod.