Glass

Glass is a non-crystalline, often transparent amorphous solid, that has widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in, for example, window panes, tableware, and optics. Glass is most often formed by rapid cooling of the molten form; some glasses such as volcanic glass are naturally occurring.

History

The history of glass dates back to at least 3600 BC in Mesopotamia. The term glass developed in the late Roman Empire. It was in the Roman glassmaking center at Trier, now in modern Germany, that the first distinctively Roman glassware began to emerge.

Properties

The most familiar type of glass, used for centuries in windows and drinking vessels, is soda-lime glass, composed of about 75% silica (SiO2) plus Na2O, CaO, and several minor additives. Often, the term glass is used in a restricted sense to refer to this specific use.

Production

Glass production involves two main methods – the float glass process that produces sheet glass, and glassblowing that produces bottles and other containers.

Uses

Glass is used in a wide range of applications, including in the construction of buildings, in the manufacture of electronics, and in various forms of art and decoration.

See also

• Glassblowing
• Glass production
• History of glass
• Properties of glass

Glass Resources
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