glassrelated

Glassrelated is an umbrella term used mainly for tagging topics that pertain to glass and the glass industry. It encompasses materials, manufacturing, properties, applications, and cultural aspects associated with glass. The scope includes common glass chemistries such as soda-lime glass, borosilicate glass, lead glass, and specialty glasses, as well as related forms like tempered, laminated, and coated variants. Key properties include transparency, refractive index, hardness, brittleness, chemical durability, and thermal expansion, which influence suitability for different uses.

Manufacturing and processing involve batching, melting, float glass production, forming methods (blowing, pressing, drawing), and finishing steps such as annealing and tempering. Safety and quality considerations include resistance to thermal shock, edge strength, and surface defects.

Applications span architecture and construction (windows, façades), packaging (bottles, jugs), optics and electronics (lens glass, fiber optics), laboratory equipment (beakers, crucibles), and consumer goods (tableware, screens). In addition, glass-related topics cover recycling, sustainability, and lifecycle concerns, as well as artistic and cultural aspects such as art glass and glassblowing traditions.

History and development of glass trace to ancient civilizations in Mesopotamia and Egypt, followed by innovations in glassmaking and processing through the medieval and modern periods. The 20th century saw the advent of the float glass process and advances in specialty glasses, tempered and laminated safety glass, and glass-ceramics. Contemporary research includes low-emissivity and smart glass technologies, as well as environmental considerations linked to production and recycling.