Glass is quite intricate and used in various ways for commercial uses such as utensils and to create items to protect our precious gadgets.Glass can be found everywhere around us, for example, mirrors, decor, screen guards, and so much more. The process of making these different types of glass is quite exciting as well.You may be wonder how glass is made? Glass is actually made from limestone. Turning limestone sand into glass is a long and tedious process. The sand must be transformed by putting it through intense heat and then cooled, which changes it from solid to liquid. The liquid sand must then be poured onto a flat surface while it is hot, where it will form into solid glass sheets while it is cooled. The process used to make glass involves extreme temperatures for both melting and cooling. For every type of glass, there is a different technique, shape, structure, melting point, and heat point.You might want to learn more about other fun facts about the common things all around us. So go ahead and look at some other articles like how is dry ice made and why do donuts have holes.How is tempered glass made?Tempered glass is stronger than ordinary glass, and tempered glass manufacturing is quite an intricate process. It is used in industrial areas where human safety is a top priority as, unlike annealed glass, it doesn’t break into sharp shards, but the broken pieces are small and relatively harmless. The size and shape must be suitable before starting the tempering process to make tempered glass. The glass is also examined beforehand to prevent the tempered glass from breaking while going through the tempering process. Sandpaper is used to brush down and smooth the edges of the glass, and then it is washed. After this, the heating process starts, and the glass is put through a tempering oven kept at a specific heat.The oven heats the glass to a specific high temperature, and then it goes through a high-pressure cooling process called quenching. This manufacturing process takes only a few seconds, after which high-pressure air is blasted on the surface of the heated glass from a row of nozzle-like structures in different positions. As soon as the center of the glass cools down, it starts to pull in the rest of the glass from the outer surfaces, and because of this, the center remains in tension while the outer portion goes into compression. This gives the glass its tempered properties.While this is one way to make tempered glass, another way is to put it through chemical tempering, where various chemicals exchange ions on the surface of the glass to create compression and create the tempered glass. This can be pretty costly and time-consuming, and therefore, manufacturing processes that don’t cost as much are used more often.How is stained glass made?There are several different processes to make stained glass with suitable equipment, but the original method is still followed and used to manufacture this type of glass.A molten glass lump is caught with a pipe, and from one end of this blowpipe, the glass is blown into a cylinder. The cylinder is then cut, shaped, and then allowed to cool down until it is a solid form.When stained glass is manufactured industrially, the mixture of raw materials is melted in a molten furnace at a specific temperature. Each stained glass piece is then measured and weighed to ensure it is similar in size and structure. This glass is mainly formed into a particular shape and used for art, decoration, and stained glass windows using molten tin.How is crystal glass made?Crystal glass is another form of glass that is manufactured industrially but to make it clear, crystal glass isn’t related to actual crystals.Crystal glass is just ordinary glass where the calcium carbonate is replaced with lead oxide chemicals. This is why the more appropriate term for this glass is lead glass. The raw materials to make glass are a mixture of ingredients, including silica sand or sodium carbonate or soda-lime, potash, and red lead. Along with this, yellow oxid from lead was mixed with these ingredients to create a lead crystal. This combination is mixed and then heated until the crystal melts together in a furnace at a specific temperature.The red lead oxide is put inside the hot furnace to oxidize and make the glass discolored and fully transparent. The lead adds to the density of the glass, and this makes it easier to diffract light. After the glass is almost done, it is put in wooden blocks and molds, and it begins to cool down in seconds while artisans need to be quick to blow the glass. If the liquid crystal cools down too quickly, it can be damaged and is therefore shifted to an annealing oven, where it stays there for hours. After it is cooled down, the crystal can be cut as per the wish of the artisan for production.How is colored glass made?Colored glass isn’t that different from stained glass, and the differences are very subtle. In the mixture of sodium carbonate or soda ash, a specific ingredient such as silicon sand, potash, red lead, or metal oxides are mixed which helps to create glass that is colored. For example, Cobalt produces blue glass, while Silver produces the color yellow. This technique is used for making different colored sheets of glass.How is gorilla glass made?Gorilla glass is produced from chemically strengthened alkali aluminosilicate, which contains silicon and geopolymer. Once the glass is created, it is dipped in a mix of molten salt. After the glass cools down, the molecular ions become compressed, and therefore it becomes tough. After this, the glass can be made flat and has many commercial uses, mainly as screen guards on phones.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for How Is Glass Made? Different Types Of Glass Making Explained! then why not take a look at Do You Know? Why Do Doctors Wear White Coats? Fun Science Facts, or Why Do Ionic Compounds Conduct Electricity? Chemistry Facts Simplified facts.
Glass is quite intricate and used in various ways for commercial uses such as utensils and to create items to protect our precious gadgets.
