Glass is an inorganic solid material that is usually clear or translucent with different colors. Glass is hard, brittle, and stands up to the effects of wind, rain or sun. Natural glass has existed since the beginnings of time, formed when certain types of 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.
Glass is one of the most common materials used by mankind today. Its use ranges from industrial applications to architectural designs and uses in homes, automobiles and aircraft. Glass is an everyday material common in all households, ranging from doors and windows to eating and drinking utensils. The production of glass for its myriad of applications is a $50 billion dollar a year industry worldwide. Glass is everywhere and is most often transparent!
Glass is thought to have been first created around 3000 BC, during the bronze age. Egyptian glass beads date back to about 2500 BC. According to the ancient-Roman historian Pliny, Phoenician merchants transporting stone actually discovered glass (or rather became aware of its existence accidentally) in the region of Syria around 5000 BC. Pliny tells how the merchants, after landing, rested cooking pots on blocks of nitrate placed by their fire. With the intense heat of the fire, the blocks eventually melted and mixed with the sand of the beach to form an opaque liquid.
Glass blowing was invented during the 1st century BC by the glassmakers of Syria. During the 15th century in Venice, the first clear glass called cristallo was invented and then heavily exported. In 1675, glassmaker George Ravenscroft invented lead crystal glass by adding lead oxide to Venetian glass. In 1902, Irving W Colburn patented the sheet glass drawing machine, making the mass production of glass for windows possible.
The first glass factory in what is now the United States was a glass plant built at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1608. The venture failed within a year because of a famine that took the lives of many colonists. The Jamestown colonists tried glassmaking again in 1621, but an Indian attack in 1622 and the scarcity of workers ended this attempt in 1624. The industry was reestablished in America in 1739,in what is now Salem County, New Jersey. This plant operated until 1780.
Glass is one of the most common materials used by mankind today. Its use ranges from industrial applications to architectural designs and uses in homes, automobiles and aircraft. Glass is an everyday material common in all households, ranging from doors and windows to eating and drinking utensils. The production of glass for its myriad of applications is a $50 billion dollar a year industry worldwide. Glass is everywhere and is most often transparent!
Glass is thought to have been first created around 3000 BC, during the bronze age. Egyptian glass beads date back to about 2500 BC. According to the ancient-Roman historian Pliny, Phoenician merchants transporting stone actually discovered glass (or rather became aware of its existence accidentally) in the region of Syria around 5000 BC. Pliny tells how the merchants, after landing, rested cooking pots on blocks of nitrate placed by their fire. With the intense heat of the fire, the blocks eventually melted and mixed with the sand of the beach to form an opaque liquid.
Glass blowing was invented during the 1st century BC by the glassmakers of Syria. During the 15th century in Venice, the first clear glass called cristallo was invented and then heavily exported. In 1675, glassmaker George Ravenscroft invented lead crystal glass by adding lead oxide to Venetian glass. In 1902, Irving W Colburn patented the sheet glass drawing machine, making the mass production of glass for windows possible.
The first glass factory in what is now the United States was a glass plant built at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1608. The venture failed within a year because of a famine that took the lives of many colonists. The Jamestown colonists tried glassmaking again in 1621, but an Indian attack in 1622 and the scarcity of workers ended this attempt in 1624. The industry was reestablished in America in 1739,in what is now Salem County, New Jersey. This plant operated until 1780.
The glass industry in America generates over $28 billion dollars a year. From glass manufacturing, sales, automobiles to aircraft, from skyscrapers to home window repair, and from laboratory beakers to your drinking utensils, glass continues to be a material used as an everyday part of our lives.
