GLASS

Mixture of a number of metallic silicates, one of which is usually an alkali metal

Amorphous, transparent, translucent
COMPOSITION
aX2O, bYO, 6SiO2

a and b area numbers of molecules

X= an atom of an alkali metal such as Na, K, etc.
Y= an atom of a bivalent metal such as Ca, Pb, etc.
PROPERTIES OF GLASS
•Absorbs, refracts or transmits light
•Can take up high polish- substitute for costly gems
•No definite crystalline structure
•No sharp melting pain
•Affected by alkalis
•Excellent electrical insulator at elevated temperatures
•Available in colours
•Elastic
•Extremely brittle
PROPERTIES OF GLASS
•Not usually affected by air or water
•Not easily attacked by ordinary chemical reagents
•Properties can be intentionally altered
•Capable of being worked in many ways- blown, drawn, pressed
•Possible to weld pieces of glass by fusion
•Transparent and translucent glass could be made lighter than cork, softer than cotton, stronger than steel
•Glass panes can be cleaned easily by:
• Applying methylated spirit
• Painting glass panes with lime wash& leaving it to dry and washing with clean water
• Rubbing damp salt
• Rubbing finely powdered chalk
TYPES OF GLASS
Glass may be grouped into 5 main categories:
•Soda lime glass/ commercial glass
•Potash lime glass
•Potash lead glass
•Common glass borosilicate glass
SODA LIME/ COMMERCIAL GLASS
•Soda glass/ soft glass
•Mainly a mixture of sodium silicate and calcium silicate
•Properties:
• Available in clean and clear state
• Cheap
• Easily fusible at comparatively low temperatures
• Possible to blow/ weld articles from this glass with simple sources of heat

•Uses: glass tubes and other lab apparatus, plate glass, window glass, etc.
POTASH LIME GLASS
•Bohemian glass. Hard glass
•Mainly a mixture of potassium silicate & calcium silicate
•Properties:
• Fuses at high temperatures
• Not easily affected by water & other solvents
• Does not melt so easily

•Uses: manufacture of glass articles which have to withstand high temperatures such as
combustion tubes, etc.
POTASH LEAD GLASS
•Flint glass
•Mainly mixture of potassium silicate & lead silicate
•Properties:
• Fuses very easily
• Easily attacked by aqueous solutions
• Possess bright luster and great refractive power
• Specific gravity- about 3 to 3.3
• Turns black and opaque- contact with reducing gases of the furnace during heating

•Uses: manufacture of artificial gems, electric bulbs, lenses, prisms, etc.

COMMON GLASS
•Bottle glass
•Prepared from cheap raw materials
•Mainly mixture of sodium silicate, calcium silicate & iron silicate
•Properties:
• Fuses with difficulty
• Brown, green or yellow colour
• Easily attacked by acids

•Uses: manufacture of medicine bottles

BOROSILICATE GLASS
•Pyrex
•70%-80% silica & 7%-13% boric oxide with smaller amount of alkalis and aluminium oxide
•Properties:
• Relatively low alkali content and consequently has good chemical durability and thermal shock resistance
• High softening point
• Does not break when temperature changes quickly

•Uses: chemical industry- for lab apparatus, for ampoules, other pharmaceutical containers,
various high intensity lighting applications, as glass fibers used in reinforced plastics to make
protective helmets, boats, piping, car chassis, ropes, car exhausts, etc.
MANUFACTURE OF GLASS
1. Collection of raw materials
2. Preparation of batch
3. Melting in furnace
4. Fabrication
5. Annealing
TREATMENT OF GLASS
•Bending: bent into desired shape- placing in ovens- temperature regulated. Glass- rods,
sheets or tubes- and heated. Bent when suitably heated.
•Cutting: cut in required sizes with help of diamond or rough glasses or small wheels of
hardened steel
•Opaque making: by grinding glass surface with emery. Chemically by application of
hydrofluoric acid
•Silvering: applying very thin coat of tin on the surface of glass. Silver deposited on this layer
of tin. Suitable paint applied- protection against atmospheric effects
COLOURED GLASS
•Colouring pigment added to raw materials while preparing batch. Whole mass heated till it
becomes homogenous
•Coloured glass- purposes- artificial precious stones, window panels, fancy articles,
decorative tiles, etc.
• Blue- cobalt oxide, cupric oxide
• Dark blue/ darker brown/ dark violet- cobalt, manganese & iron oxides
• Green- ferrosol ferric oxide, chromium sesquioxinde
• Red- cuprous oxide, metallic gold
• Violet- manganese dioxide
• White opaque- tin oxide, calcium phosphorite
• Yellow/ brown- antimony trisulphide
SPECIAL VARIETY OF GLASS
•Alkali barium silicate glass •Perforated glass
•Alumino silicate glass •Photo chromic glass
•Bullet proof glass •Pyrex glass/ borosilicate glass
•Fiber glass •Safety glass
•Float glass/ plate glass •Sealing glass
•Foam glass •Shielding glass
•Glass blocks •Silica glass
•Glass ceramics •Soluble glass
•Heat excluding glass •Structural glass
•Lead crystal glass •Technical glass
•Obscured glass/ patterned glass •Ultra violet ray glass
•Optical glass •Wired glass
ALKALI BARIUM SILICATE GLASS
•TV produces X rays- in long run cause health problems- absorbed by glass with minimum
amount of heavy oxides (lead, barium, strontium)
•Lead glass is commonly used for funnel and neck of the TV tube, glass containing barium –
for screen
ALUMINO SILICATE GLASS
•20% aluminium oxide- often including calcium oxide, magnesium oxide and boric oxide in
relatively small amounts- but with only very small amount of soda or potash
•Able to withstand high temperatures and thermal shocks- typically used in combustion tubes,
gauge glasses for high pressure steam boilers, in halogen tungsten lamps capable of
operating at high temperatures (750º C)
BULLET PROOF GLASS
•Made of several layers of plate glass and alternate layers- vinyl resin plastic
•Outer layers of plate glass- made thinner than inner layers
•Special care during heating and cooling of layers during manufacture
•Thickness- 15mm to 75mm or more
•Will not allow bullet to pierce through
FIBER GLASS
•Composed of minute glass rods and each glass rod resembles the parent material
•Soft to touch, flexible in nature
•Does not absorb water, proof against fire, vermin, water, acids
•Continuous strands like silk, or staple form like wool
•Molten glass spun at very high speed- produce continuous fine glass fibers.
•Used for thermal insulation. Sheets, fiber glass reinforced plastics, etc.
•Optical fibers
FLOAT GLASS/ PLATE GLASS
•Molten glass from furnace allowed to float on molten tin- float glass formed
•Annealed to remove all stresses
•Widely used- residential buildings, commercial complexes, furniture articles, etc.
•Advantages over ordinary sheet glass:
• Consumes 30%-40% less energy- environment friendly
• Aesthetic appearance
• Available in larger sizes and various thicknesses
• Cost effective – comparing to brick wall, finishing material, paint, maintenance, etc.
• Suitable for solar applications- high light transmission- higher efficiency
• Tougher and more scratch resistant
• Mirrors- give true images
• Possess high optical clarity & superior safety properties
FLOAT GLASS/ PLATE GLASS
•Float glass- special thin coating on 1 side- allow sun’s energy to pass through in 1 direction
while reducing thermal transfer the other way- energy efficient glass
• Principle behind- difference in thermal wavelength of energy transmitted from sun and that transmitted from heat
within a room

•Float glass- special thin photo catalytic coating on one side- coating uses UV rays- to
steadily break down any organic dirt on surface using photocatalytic effect- loosen dirt from
glass– self cleaning glass
• Also has hydrophilic properties- rain runs down the pane of glass- cleaning the loosened dirt

•Abrasive cleaning is not permitted

FOAM GLASS
•Prepared in form of rectangular blocks
•Finely ground glass and Carbon- thoroughly mixed- mixture melted in a furnace
•At the time of melting, mixture expands& assumes form of black foam
•Contains more than 350 million inert air cells per m3
•Foam glass- floats on water
•Can be cut like wood
•Fire proof, rigid, excellent heat insulator
•Could substitute cork for use in AC and refrigeration industries
GLASS BLOCKS
•Partially evacuated & completely sealed hollow units- formed by fusing together 2 halves of pressed glass
•Edges- coated with a grit bearing plastic material so that permanent & effective bond with mortar is
ensured
•Glass blocks- available in square sizes with dimensions- 150mm, 200mm, 300mm- approx. thickness of
100mm
•One or both faces treated to obscure or diffuse light
•Possess high insulating value- set in cement mortar
•Advantages:
• Easy to clean
• Excellent in light transmission
• Provide very good insulation against cold, heat, noise

•Not intended to carry superimposed loads- adequate strength to carry own weight- upto max 6m
•Able to resist effect of lateral wind pressure for individual panels not exceeding 11m 2 in area
GLASS CERAMICS
•Some glass ceramics formed from lithium alumino silicate glass- extremely resistant to
thermal shock-
•applications- cooker hobs, cooking ware, windows for gas or coal fires, mirror substrates for
astronomical telescopes, missile nose cones
HEAT EXCLUDING GLASS
•Allows light through pass through it, eliminates heat
•Used- windows of coaches of higher class in railways, in window panels of important
buildings, etc.
LEAD CRYSTAL GLASS
•Made from potassium carbonate, lead oxide and sand
•High refractive index- lead crystal glass sparkles
•Used- expensive glass ware
•Surface- cut to decorative patterns to reflect light
OBSCURED GLASS/ PATTERNED
GLASS
•Used where light to be passed- vision to be obscured
•Has one surface either ground or made opaque by melting powdered glass upon the surface
•Can also be prepared by abrading/ rubbing action of sand blast
•Used for public toilets, office doors, partitions ,etc.
•Types- figured glass, ground glass, chipped glass, corrugated glass
OPTICAL GLASS
•Used in scientific instruments, microscopes, fighter air craft, spectacles
•Most important properties- refractive index and dispersion
•Uses the variation in these characteristics- develop optical glass
PERFORATED GLASS
•Perforations in sheet glass with rollers
•Perforations may be made during or after manufacture
•Use- panels in ventilators
PHOTO CHROMIC GLASS
•Glass- temporarily darkens when exposed to bright light
•Due to presence of silver bromide
•Sun shield
PYREX GLASS/ BOROSILICATE
GLASS
•Made by fusing a mixture of sand, lime, borax and alkali carbonates
•Mainly used as ovenware and other heat resisting ware
•Widely used in chemical industry
SAFETY GLASS
•Formed by placing celluloid between 2 sheets of plate glass and applying glue to make a
single unit
•If glass breaks, the flying of splinters does not occur
•Shatter proof glass/ toughened glass
SEALING GLASS
•Used to seal metals for electrical and electronic components
•Grouped according to thermal expansion- match thermal expansion of metal to be sealed
•Incandescenet & discharge lamps- borosilicate alkaline earths- aluminous silicate glasses-
suitable for sealing to tungsten
•Sodium borosilicate glasses- used or sealing molybdenum and iron nickel cobalt alloys
SHIELDING GLASS
•Contains heavy elements like lead oxide
•Used for windows through which radiation is observed
•Quality of glass used- depends on type of radiation
SILICA GLASS
•Has very low thermal expansion
•Very difficult to make as it contains tiny holes created using acids and is used for filtration
•Porous glasses of this kind commonly known as vycor
SOLUBLE GLASS
•Prepared by melting quartz sand, grinding and thoroughly mixing it with soda ash, sodium
sulphate or potassium carbonate
•Melting is carried out in glass tanks at a temperature between 1300ºc -1400ºC and takes
about 7-10 hours
•Resultant glass mass flows out from the furnace and it cools rapidly and breaks up into
pieces, known as the silica lumps
•Under normal conditions, this glass- soluble in water
•Used for preparing acid resistant cement
STRUCTURAL GLASS
•In the form of Glass crete squares or Lenses which are set in cement concrete and reinforced
with steel frames
•Popularly known as glass bricks
•Widely used- pavement lights, partitions, lantern lights etc.
TECHNICAL GLASS
•Borate glass:
• important in producing electrical components
• Contains little or no silica- used for soldering glass, metals or ceramics as it melts at relatively low temperatures

•Passivation glass:
• Used for protecting silicon semi conductor components against chemical attack and mechanical damage
• Important in microelectronics technology and production of silicon chips inside computers

•Phosphate glass:
• Semi conductor, used in construction of secondary electron multipliers

•Chalcogenide glass:
• Made without presence of oxygen
• Potential use as IR transmitting materials and as switching devices in computer memories
UV RAY GLASS
•Transmits effectively UV rays
•Made from raw mixture with min admixtures of iron, titanium and chrome
•Transmits 75% of UV radiation which is far more than common glass
•Widely used in windows of schools, hospitals, etc
WIRED GLASS
•Steel wire mesh is placed in glass during rolling operation
•Mesh- hexagonal or square units
•If breaks, pieces held by mesh
•Fire resistant
•Used for- roofs, skylights, fire resistant doors and windows, etc.