GLASS

HISTORY
• Obsidian – naturally occurring glass
– volcanic glass
– used for production of knives,
arrowheads, jewelry and money
 YEAR

3100 BC Earliest glass artifacts found in Egypt

Small glass articles made from moulds have been found in Egypt and
1500 BC
Syria. The first glass was produced probably in Egypt.

650 BC First glass making manual was written, Assyrian Assurbanipal's Library

1 AD Technique of blowing glass was invented in the Babylon area.

Glass cost rapidly declines and for the first time becomes available to
100 AD
ordinary citizens
Domination of Venice glass center in glass production. Murano Island
1000AD
became a major glass center.

1226 ''Broad Sheet‘‘ was first produced in Sussex

1330 French glassmakers produced ''crown glass'' in Rouen, France

1500 Angelo Barovier invented ''cristallo'', clear, colorless glass

YEAR

1590 Development of glass telescope and microscope lenses in Netherlands

Caspar Lehman, a Praque glassmaker, used the technique of cutting

1600
rock crystal to glass

1608 The first American glass was made by settlers in Jamestown

1615 Introduction of coal furnaces in England

1620 Production of ''Blown plate'' was produced in London

1674 George Ravenscroft invented lead glass

1688 ``Polished plate`` was produced in France

1745 Glass Excise Act passed in England

1765 ''Crystal glass'' production began a new era in glass industry

1827 Glass pressing machine was invented in America

YEAR

1834 Robert Lucas Chance introduced ``Improved Cylinder Sheet``

1843 Henry Bessemer introduced an early form of ``Float glass``

1847 James Hartley invented ``Rolled plate``

First regenerative glass furnace was patented in German by Siemens
1867
brothers, Freiderich, Karl, Hans, Werner and Wilhelm
1902 Irving W. Colburn invented the sheet glass drawing machine

1903 An automatic glass blowing machine was invented by Michael Owens

1913 Technique of ``Flat Drawn Sheet`` was introduced in Belgium

1959 "Float glass" was invented in UK by Sir Alastair Pilkington

First fluoride glass was discovered by Marcel and Michael Poulain and
1984
Jacques Lucas in Rennes, France.
Basic Components of Modern Glass
• Pure Silica (SiO2 , fused quartz) represents 70-
74% weight of modern glass
• Sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) lowers the melting
point of silica to more manageable 1200 °C but it
also makes the glass water soluble.
• lime (calcium oxide, CaO), magnesium
oxide (MgO) and aluminum oxide (Al2O3) are
added to prevent glass from being water soluble
and to increase its chemical structure,
Basic Components of Modern Glass
• lead oxide, barium and lanthanum oxide can
increase glass refractive index
• Sodium sulfate , sodium chloride,
or antimony oxide can be added to prevent
the creation of air bubbles in the glass
mixture.
• Iron can strengthen ability of glass to absorb
infrared energy and heat.
Basic Components of Modern Glass
• Cerium (IV) oxide is responsible for absorbing
UV radiation.
• Boron oxide strengthens the structure of glass
and protect it from thermal expansion
 Main Types of Glass
• Annealed glass is the basic flat glass product
that is the first result of the float process.
• Toughened glass is treated to be far more
resistant to breakage than simple annealed
glass
• Laminated glass is made of two or more layers
of glass with one or more "interlayers" of
polymeric material bonded between the glass
layers.
 Main Types of Glass
• Patterned glass is flat glass whose surfaces
display a regular pattern.
• Extra clear glass is a specific type of melted
glass
• In mirrored glass, a metal coating is applied to
one side of the glass.