Glass Prehistory and History

• Published in: Glass pp. 25 - 40
• Main Author: Le Bourhis , Eric
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Germany Wiley 2014; Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA
• Subjects: aluminosilicate (ALS) glasses; borosilicate glasses; optical glasses; soda‐lime‐silica glasses
• ISBN: 3527337059; 9783527337057
• DOI: 10.1002/9783527679461.ch03

Natural glass has existed since the beginnings of time, formed when rocks melt as a result of high‐temperature phenomena such as volcanic eruptions, lightning strikes or the impact of meteorites and then cool and solidify rapidly enough so that a liquid‐like structure can be frozen in glassy state. Most ancient manufactured glasses have been discovered in tombs in Egypt. The history of optical glasses starts with flint glasses that were first produced in the seventeenth century. Soda‐lime‐silica glasses used in containers and flat glass have changed little over the past centuries, its mechanization starting progressively by 1900, some operations remaining manual. Abbe and Schott established that borosilicate glasses had superior resistance than soda‐lime‐silica glasses to chemical attack and had better thermal shock resistance because of their lower thermal expansion. Aluminosilicate (ALS) glasses could be chemically strengthened to achieve compressive residual stresses well above those achieved with thermal tempering.