Glass

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Glass is a non-crystalline, non-porous and generally transparent material typically used in windows, doors, mirrors, bottles, jars, and other containers and displays. It can be made into a variety of colors, shapes, sizes and durabilities. It can be used in architecture and design, as well as in art.

Properties

Glass is made from three classifications of materials: formers, fluxes, and stabilizers. The main ingredients in glass are:[1]:

  • crushed white sand
  • crushed limestone
  • sodium carbonate

Formers comprise the majority of the composition of glass; it is the main ingredient that makes up the "body" of glass. Fluxes are used in the glassmaking process to lower the temperature at which the formers melt. Stabilizers modify the strength of glass.

References

  1. Simple Glassmaking. Corning Museum of Glass (2007). Retrieved on 2007-08-13.