In physics, the term glass refers
to a solid formed by rapid melt quenching.
In other sciences, the term glass
refers to every solid that possesses a non-crystalline structure and that
exhibits a glass transition when heated towards the liquid state.
In everyday use, the term glass
refers to a material composed of silica, sodium oxide and lime, which is
commonly used to make windows and vessels.
This is all sounds quite
scientific. Appropriately so, since, without glass, science would not be the
same beast that it is today.
Glass, with its glorious transparency,
mouldability and relative toughness, has made it an essential material for
science. Microscopes using light and magnifying glasses have allowed us to
explore a microscopic world that was previously hidden from man's gaze.
Similarly, the ability to measure liquids in a vessel was made a lot easier
when beakers and measuring cylinders were created from glass. These vessels
could also be heated and moved without losing their shape, all whilst still
being able to observe the reactions that were happening. Prisms refracted light and revealed the colours of the rainbow from a single beam of white light.
Glass was possibly the first time
a transparent, safe barrier could be put between an observer and subject, with shaping enhancing the viewing e.g. magnifying.
The potential for the creation of
a diverse range of glass products is the reason why glass was and is still
valued. Yet, before the advent of scientific instruments, glass was being used
as a substitute material for the fashioning of established tools. Obsidian,
naturally occurring volcanic glass, was used by Stone Age societies for sharp
cutting tools, perhaps due to it being easier to craft and fulfilling the cutting purpose better than rock. Not just for pure practical use, glass jewellery, beads and
artworks are examples of the aesthetic beauty that can be attributed to glass
products too.
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