Brought to you by the Glass Geeks at MCSOG
Did you know that ...
1. Glass is not a liquid or a solid.
Glass is a formed by heating a mixture of dry materials to a viscous state, then cooling the ingredients fast enough to prevent a regular crystalline structure. As the glass cools, the atoms become locked in a disordered state like a liquid before they can form into the perfect crystal arrangement of a solid.
Being neither a liquid nor a solid, but sharing the qualities of both, glass is its own state of matter. Glass is an amorphous solid.
2. The “recipe” for glass is relatively simple.
Soda lime glass, the most common type of glass has only three ingredients, that can be easily found at your local garden center or hardware store.
To make glass … take 75% silicon dioxide (sand), 15% sodium oxide (soda ash), and 10% calcium oxide (lime), mix them together, heat to 2,100 degrees until molten, add color, blow and enjoy!
3. There are two sources of naturally occuring glass.
When lightning strikes sand, the sand is melted or vaporized, leaving behind amorphous glass tubes called fulgurites.
Obsidian is an igneous rock occurring as a natural glass. It is formed by the rapid cooling of viscous lava from volcanoes.
4. Glass is good for the planet.
Glass bottles and jars are 100% recyclable and can be recycled endlessly without any loss in purity or quality. The energy from recycling one glass bottle can power a computer for 30 minutes.
5. New Jersey has a rich glass blowing history.
Glassmaking started in Alloway, New Jersey in 1739. The quality of southern New Jersey’s sand was crucial to establishing a glassmaking center. New Jersey had such good, clean sand that it was actually imported to other glass manufacturers. At the turn of the 20th century, the peak of production, there were 90 glass factories in New Jersey
