Glass. Receiving and using. Melting point of glass

Being one of the most ancient materials, glass is used by mankind for not one thousand years. The universality of this substance allowed him to find application in a wide variety of industries. On the physical and chemical properties of glass refers to inorganic compounds, it is solid, has an amorphous structure, isotropic.

For each type of glass, the transformation of the aggregate state from a liquid, highly viscous to a glassy form is characteristic during the manufacturing process. The technology of production provides for its cooling at a rate that does not allow the transition to the crystallization phase of the melt.

The melting point of the glass depends on its quality and the expected characteristics. Typically, cooking occurs over a fairly wide temperature range from 300 to 2500 ° C. The properties of this substance depend on the components that make up the glass-forming melts. Their list is quite extensive and is represented by various oxides, phosphates, fluorides and other additives. At the same time, classical transparency is by no means the last characteristic for various types of glasses, occurring both in nature and synthesized during production.

The most ancient glass crafts, dated to seven centuries BC, were met by archaeologists engaged in excavations in Egypt. These were beads and amulets. But several millennia passed before the first industrial enterprises appeared, glassworks of the eighteenth century. A peculiarity of glass production in batch was that the melting temperature of the glass was achieved using coal, and the boilers for cooking became closed.

Prior to that, wood was used as fuel, glassworks for a long time were not in place, the furnaces were scattered, and the fuel in the district was quickly consumed. Boilers were open, firewood did not emit substances that affect the transparency and color of the product. The glass melting temperature in this type of process reached 1450 ° C.

An important event was the invention at the beginning of the 20th century of a method for the production of sheet glass, named for its developer Emil Furko, who proposed a machine drawing method. Having existed until 1959, it was superseded by the Float method developed by Pilkington.

The main constituents of ordinary glass are quartz sand in the proportion of 69-74%, soda (12-16%), dolomite and limestone (5-12%). But in the technological process of production it is important not only at what temperature the glass melts, but also what is the rate of cooling the melt. Theoretically, with rapid cooling, it is possible to obtain a vitreous body from a metal, the main thing is to cool the melt to the formation of a crystal lattice.

With all the variety of attractive properties of conventional glass, there was an urgent need for a more durable and light transparent material. First of all, it touched the industry specializing in aircraft construction. Plexiglas got its name only from external similarities with traditional glass.

Its impact resistance is five times higher, it is 2.5 times lighter. By light transmission it reaches a level of 92%, has a high resistance to aging. Much easier and more accessible plexiglass in processing. The melting point of Plexiglas is in the range of 90-105 degrees, which allows it to be heat treated.

But both of these materials have occupied every niche in modern production. Traditional inorganic glass firmly holds its positions and is not going to hand them over to the newest organic polymers.

Using a wide range of different impurities and additives allows us to obtain not only the amazing optical characteristics of glass, but also significantly improve its mechanical properties.

In addition to industrial use, it is necessary to note the role of art glass. Masters-glass blowers, continuing the traditions of ancient artists, turned the creation of masterpieces from glass into true art. In the furnaces of their workshops, the melting point of the glass is reached, working almost manually, in their work they not only exhibit an extraordinary imagination, but also expend a lot of physical effort.