What is glass?
What exactly IS glass, anyway? Read on to learn!
Glass is made from sand, also known as Silicon dioxide, that has been melted and turned into a liquid. In order to melt sand, it has to reach a temperature of around 1700°C – that’s 3039°F. That’s extremely hot! Think about it – your cooking oven self cleans at around 500. Even if you have a bonfire on the beach, it still doesn’t get hot enough to melt the sand underneath it.
When sand that is melted cools down, it doesn’t turn back into sand as we know it. The molecules on the inside lose their crystalline structure, which is to say that they are arranged differently at a molecular level. In fact, like liquids, the molecules in glass aren’t really arranged at all. It doesn’t matter how cool your new glass gets, it never fully becomes solid. It is instead scientifically referred to as an amorphous solid or a supercooled liquid. Even though it appears to be a solid, it isn’t. If you’ve ever looked at a really old window, you might notice that the view is distorted as you move. This is because the glass is slowly flowing towards the Earth, becoming wider at the bottom and narrower at the top.
The reason we use glass so much in our homes is because it has a range of ideal properties – including transparency! Other properties of glass include workability when melted, heat resistance when set, and chemical inertness. This means we can store acids in glass (other than Hydrofluoric acid) or other harsh chemicals without worry. Glass is also relatively cheap to produce and can be reused over and over.
Ace Discount Glass – best prices in Austin for quality glass!
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We can give you a quote right away so you know exactly how much your glass repair or replacement in Austin will cost. Rest assured your cost will be lower than anybody else in Austin, we guarantee the lowest repair cost and will beat any competitor’s price in town for new glass!
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