Glass is a solid material with an amorphous internal structure.

[KLscilevothma]

"glass" is a solid material with an amorphous internal structure.

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2003/14apr_zeroglass.htm

From the article above, it says:
"glass" is a solid material with an amorphous internal structure. The atoms in solids are usually arranged in regular, predictable patterns, like bricks fitted into a wall. But if the atoms are just jumbled together in a disorganized way, like bricks dumped on the ground... that's glass.

Heat them above 2000 F. Then cool the incandescent liquid carefully so that crystals cannot form.

So does it imply that if I have 1kg egg shell, and I heat it to 2000 F and cool it immediately before the atoms arrange themselves regularly again, then I can obtain glass ? Besides how can the atoms just jumpled together in a disorganized way?

 

[Istari]

So does it imply that if I have 1kg egg shell, and I heat it to 2000 F and cool it im

Yes, that is what is implied. But you only get glass if you could cool it without having crystals form. You couldn't. Not with eggshells alone. Not on earth. Funny you mentioned an eggshell because calcium carbonate in the eggshell is used in some glass-mixtures as a stabilizer (some glass without calcium carbonate can be dissolved by water) but you need to add a "former" to your mix: silica works.

Glass is a mixture of different stuff. Not all mixtures will produce melts, like the article says, though in space crystalization happens less frequently. That was cool. Different stuff is added to the mixture to bring about a desired type of glass. Maybe one that is clearer for fiber-optics (flouride) or stronger for space shuttle windows, etc. There are all sorts of reasons to add this or that.

Anyway, all that author meant with the disorganized analogy was to illustrate that the fundamental property of glass is that when heated it's structurally the same as when cooled. Imagine having hands that are 2700F degrees and being able to squeeze, twist, and melt your lungs AND have them retain that position when cooled without being damaged. Glass can do that. Glass is incredible stuff.

Thanks for the article. I learned some new chemical combinations for glass. The bioactive glass was really interesting for me. I'm going to ask an orthopaedist about that tomorrow.

Cheers,

Istari

 

[ravenprp]

Yes, the process described in the article is essentially how glass is made. By heating and then rapidly cooling a material, the atoms are not given enough time to arrange themselves into a regular, crystalline structure. This results in a disorganized arrangement of atoms, which is characteristic of glass. As for your example of an egg shell, it is important to note that the process described in the article is specific to certain materials and their melting points. Heating an egg shell to 2000 F would likely result in its destruction rather than the formation of glass. Additionally, the atoms in a solid material are constantly in motion, so even if they are arranged in a regular pattern, they are still technically "jumbled" together. It is the lack of a repeating pattern that distinguishes glass from other solids.