How to - Origami

Glass has been used for hundreds of years in millions of different items and it is an amazing material that is often taken for granted. We use it in our cars, buildings, light bulbs and wine glasses, but few people know exactly how glass transforms from raw materials into the functional molded end products. Here are the stages of glass production.

1.) Sand is well known to be the main ingredient in glass, although other materials are needed. Silica is the type of sand most often used in glass making and added to this is limestone and soda ash. The amount of each component used has quite a big impact on how the glass turns out, and additional elements are often used to alter density and colour etc. For example, a glass blower might add a small amount of red dye to the mix to make pink champagne glasses.

2.) Around 1700oC is the temperature that the mixture is heated to. When it reaches this temperature it forms a fluid liquid and all the added elements blend into one. Very large furnaces are needed to generate the heat to melt glass. Electric powered furnaces are on the increase, although traditional glass blowers still prefer to use classic coal fires. When the glass mix is in a molten state, it can easily be manipulated and sculpted or blown in to specific shapes. This is a skill that takes years to master and is very easy to get wrong.

3.) After the glassblower has shaped the piece, it is then allowed to cool down. This cooling process is very important as it can have a huge influence on the glass qualities, including strength, clarity and how it shatters. For example, whisky glasses are often cooled slowly as this makes them less susceptible to scratches, although the refractive index is slightly lower than other types of glass

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