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In construction, concrete is a composite building material made from the combination of aggregate and cement binder.
The most common form of concrete consists of Portland cement, mineral aggregates (generally gravel and sand) and water. Contrary to common belief, concrete does not solidify from drying after mixing and placement. Instead, the cement hydrates, gluing the other components together and eventually creating a stone-like material. When used in the generic sense, this is the material referred to by the term concrete.
Concrete is used to make pavements, building structures, foundations, motorways/roads,
overpasses, parking structures, brick/block walls and bases for gates, fences
and poles. Concrete is used more than any other man-made material on the planet,
with water being the only substance on Earth we utilize more. An old name for
concrete is liquid stone.
As of 2005 over six billion tons of concrete are made each year, amounting to
the equivalent of one ton for every person on Earth, and powers a US$35 billion
industry which employs over two million workers in the United States alone.
Over 55,000 miles of freeways and highways in America are made of this material
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