Fact of the Day: 22/11/2021

We see glass every single day. It’s used for many different things, including windows and formal drinking cups. We may not use it as much as plastic, but it is there hiding in plain sight. Despite this, how many people know what glass really is? According to the Corning Museum of Glass, “Glass is a rigid material formed by heating a mixture of dry materials to a viscous state, then cooling the ingredients fast enough to prevent a regular crystalline structure” (“All About Glass” par. 1). In order to make  glass, you need three main things: a former, a flux, and a stabilizer. A former,  such as sand, is the main material comprising the glass, and is heated to high temperatures. A flux, “usually soda ash or potash, which was traditionally made from marine plant ashes, or by burning bracken or trees, respectively,” is used to help the former “melt at lower temperatures” (“All About Glass” par. 8). A stabilizer, commonly “calcium oxide in the form of limestone,” prevents the glass from forming incorrectly (“All About Glass” par. 9). 

The Corning Museum of Glass goes on to explain the glass-making process: “The mixture of dry materials used to form glass is called the batch. Batch is heated in a furnace to about 2400˚F. Broken glass, called cullet, is added to the batch to facilitate the melting process. An imbalance in the batch due to an excess of alkaline flux or too little stabilizer will cause crizzling, a chemical instability resulting in a fine network of cracks and deterioration of the glass” (“All About Glass” par. 10). If you want to learn more about how glass is formed, go on the Internet and try looking it up. I suggest using https://home.cmog.org/. This is the website for the Corning Museum of Glass. They have good information because they make glass themselves and also have classes to teach others. I hope today’s fact answered any questions you had about glass. 

Reference(s): https://www.cmog.org/article/what-is-glass

Fact Author: Durga I.

Fact Editor: Ace

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