02 Feb 3 Reasons Why Glass Is So Special
Glass has fascinated people for thousands of years. Its unusual qualities and variety of uses – from jewelry to glass shower panels – continues to capture our imaginations.
Believe it or not, there are things about glass that scientists still can’t fully explain. That mystery is just one of the things that make glass so special. Here are a few others:
- To create the flat glass sheets used to make everything from windows to glass railings and clear glass shower enclosures, a method known as the float process is used. “In this method, molten glass moves over the lip of a broad spout, passes between rollers, and floats over a bath of molten tin in a steel container,” the folks at Explain That Stuff tell us.
- Did you know that glass is stronger than most metals? “When tested in a flawless state, glass can withstand a relatively reversible compression yet not fracture,” the experts at Sonoran Glass say. But, of course, who among us is completely flawless? “Its theoretical strength in tension is estimated to be 2 to 5 million pounds per square inch. However, the strength of most commercial glass products ranges from only 2,000 to 25,000 pounds per square inch, owing to the presence of scratches and microscopic flaws.”
- Glass is not a solid. “You can make glass by heating ordinary sand (which is mostly made of silicon dioxide) until it melts and turns into a liquid,” the folks at Explain That Stuff tell us. “When molten sand cools, it doesn’t turn back into the gritty yellow stuff you started out with: it undergoes a complete transformation and gains an entirely different inner structure. But it doesn’t matter how much you cool the sand, it never quite sets into a solid.” So what is it? Scientists use the term amorphous solid to describe glass. “It’s like a cross between a solid and a liquid with some of the crystalline order of a solid and some of the molecular randomness of a liquid.”
Of course, another reason glass is so special is because it has the ability to transform a dated bathroom into a stylish, contemporary bathroom. If you would like information about how frameless glass shower enclosures can do that, all you have to do is contact us.