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9/19/2014 Complete information on 9 different types of Glasses

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Complete information on 9
different types of Glasses
Glass is a mixture having no definite boiling of freezing points. It is also
called a super cooled liquid. Chemically, most glasses are silicates. It is
transparent and not affected by chemicals. It can be moulded into any
shape. The ingredients for making glass are:-
1. Limestone (CaCO
3
),
2. Soda ash (Na
2
CO
3
), and
3. Sand (SiO
2
)
Manufacture of glass
The manufacture of glass involves the following steps:
1. Limestone, sand and soda ash are mixed and poured into a tank
furnace. Tank furnace looks like a small swimming pool. It is very hot
(about 1700
0
C). It is shallow at one end and deep at the other.
2. The raw material moves slowly towards the deeper end. Silica melts at
a very high temperature. In order to lower its melting point, soda ash is
added. Thus, energy is saved and a low cost is incurred in the glass-
making process.
3. Due to the presence of limestone, glass becomes insoluble in water.
4. As the raw material melts, a clear jelly-like substance is formed; this
takes about a weeks time.
5. During this time bubbles of CO
2
gas escape and some of the raw
material slowly changes into a mixture of silicates.
6. The following reactions take place inside the furnace.
7. The clear jelly-like substance on cooling sets to form glass. This is
known as soda-lime glass.
Types of glass
There are nine types of glass according to the minor additions and
variations in the ingredients used and according to the methods of
manufacturing. The different types of glasses are different in their
properties and uses.
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9/19/2014 Complete information on 9 different types of Glasses
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1. Soda glass or soda-lime glass:
It is the most common variety of glass. It is prepared by heating sodium
carbonate and silica. It is used for making windowpanes, tableware,
bottles and bulbs.
2. Coloured glass:
Small amounts of metallic oxides are mixed with the hot molten mixture
of sand, sodium carbonate and limestone. The desired colour
determines the choice of the metallic oxide to be added, as different
metallic oxides give different colours to the glass.
Coloured glass is much in demand. It is used for decorating walls,
making sunglasses, and for making light signals for automobiles, trains
and aeroplanes.
3. Plate glass:
Plate glass is thicker than ordinary glass. It has a very smooth surface. It
is made by floating a layer of molten glass over a layer of molten tin. It is
used in shop windows and doors.
4. Safety glass:
It can also be called shatterproof glass. It is made by placing a sheet of
plastic such as celluloid between sheets of glass. The special quality of
this glass is that in case of breakage the broken pieces stick to the plastic
and do not fly off. You must have noticed a broken window-pane of a
bus or a car still in its place. It is used in automobiles. It is also used for
making bulletproof screens.
5. Laminated glass:
It can also be called bulletproof glass. Several layers of safety glass are
bound together with a transparent adhesive. The larger the number of
layers used the greater is the strength of the glass. It is stronger than
safety glass. It is used in aeroplanes and windshields of cars.
6. Optical glass:
Optical glass is softer than any other glass. It is clear and transparent.
Potassium and lead silicates are used in making optical glass. It is also
called flint glass. The main use of flint glass is in the manufacture of
lenses, prisms and other optical instruments.
7. Pyrex glass:
Pyrex glass is highly heat resistant. In ordinary glass, silica is the main
constituent. In pyrex glass some of the silica is replaced by boron oxide.
Boron oxide expands very little when heated, thus, pyrex glass does not
crack on strong heating. Pyrex glass is also called borosilicate glass. It
has a high melting point and is resistant to many chemicals. Laboratory
equipment and ovenware are made of pyrex glass.
8. Photo-chromatic glass:
Photochromatic glass acquires a darker shade when exposed to bright
light and returns to its original lighter shade in dim light. This happens
because silver iodinde is added to this glass. (silver iodide gets coloured
with the intensity of light.)
9. Lead crystal glass:
Lead crystal glass has high refractive index, and so has the maximum
brilliance. It sparkles and is used for high quality art objects and for
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expensive glassware. It is also called cut glass because the surface of the
glass objects is often cut into decorative patterns to reflect light. In order
to increase the refractive index, lead oxide is used as flux in crystal glass,
therefore it is also called lead crystal glass.
The major disadvantage of ordinary glass is that it is brittle. It cracks
when subjected to sudden changes of temperature. When the glass has
been moulded into a finished article, it is cooled very slowly to prevent
brittleness. The process in which a finished glass article is cooled slowly
is called annealing.
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