Glass


 * Is glass only useful for making window panels and objects of common use? Rethink you mind if you thought that was true. This page will help you find summarized information related to glass, starting with its definition, then a brief history and short review about some types of glass and finally it uses in architecture and its roll in modern architecture. **


 * Glass is an amorphous solid material made from the fusion of sand, boric oxide, aluminum oxide and acids in a oven at high temperatures. Phisically, glass is weak and brittle and depending on its composition, it can be transparent or opaque. **
 * Ancient pieces of glass were non-transparent beads recorded from the first half of the 3rd century BC, then appeared small pieces of hollow glass from Egypt and the first manual of glass-making". **
 *  A more sophiticaded method of glass production was born in the early 1st century in Syria which is the shaping of glass by blowing and it's still famous nowadays. **
 * The first glasses used in construction were used by the ancient Romans to produce small panes for windows in the 12th century. This ancient type of glass needed grinding and polishing. **
 * Glass can be shape to any form and its costs depend on it features (Thickness, ressitency to fire, abrasion…). It can also be prodiced in colors and varying its grade of transparency. There are many types of glass, some them are sugar glass (used to make thin objects that are easy to break), acrylic glass (also known as plastic glass since its composition is a mixture between glass and polymers to make it more resistant) and soda lime glass (is the one used commonly to fabricate window panels and bottles) **
 * In Architecture, glass is never used as a structural material but is still essential in window and wall design. Glass became the main material in modern architecture when it replaced the space of the window and cglaame to fill the entire space of the wall. With the help of other structural materials, glass can support itself to build a large variety of construction elements such as staircases, floors (using thick glass), canopies and walls. For example: the inverted pyramids of the Louvre Museum in Paris are made from a metallical structure that supports the large coverings of glass. **
 * One important advantage of glass is that it's recyclable and there are almost limitless objects that can be made of glass that are very endurable if they're treated and used correctly.

For more information about glass making, you can visit this website and watch the video of the glass making demonstration at the Corning Museu of Glass is NY, USA.

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