My glass beer bottle survived a fall from the 10th floor, how, & why?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the durability of a glass beer bottle that survived a fall from the 10th floor, exploring the reasons behind its resilience. Participants examine various factors including material properties, manufacturing processes, and specific conditions of the fall.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant recounts a personal experience of a glass bottle bouncing upon impact without breaking, seeking explanations for this phenomenon.
  • Another participant suggests that the bottle may have landed on a softer surface, but the original poster clarifies it landed on cement and dirt.
  • A participant notes that modern glass bottles are lighter and thinner, implying that they may be designed to be tougher than older models due to manufacturing changes.
  • One hypothesis presented involves the use of additives in modern glass that enhance its ability to withstand tension, along with a specific manufacturing process that creates internal tension and external compression in the glass.
  • A reference is made to Prince Rupert's drop, a glass object known for its strength under certain conditions, raising questions about the strength of the beer bottle.
  • Another participant mentions a company that produces exceptionally durable glassware, suggesting that advancements in glass technology may contribute to the bottle's resilience.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express various hypotheses regarding the strength of the bottle, but no consensus is reached on a definitive explanation. Multiple competing views and uncertainties remain regarding the factors contributing to the bottle's survival.

Contextual Notes

Some claims about the properties of modern glass and manufacturing processes are not substantiated with references, leaving open questions about the specifics of how these changes affect durability.

dzbshea
All of you sound really smart, I have a question for you. This happened in Hawaii, years ago. I was drinking with my highschool friends, we decided who can throw the empty brown Budweiser bottles (the short stocky kind) the furthest from the balcony 10 flights down would go get another round. I went first my bottle seemed to bounce and didn't break! I've never been able to get a satisfactory response to how and why it didn't break. Can anyone tell me why? No wind and sunny day.
 
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It landed on/in water, or sand, or a pile of leaves, or a fish, or ??? .
 
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Nope, it was cement and dirt, no grass, no water!
 
dzbshea said:
I went first my bottle seemed to bounce and didn't break! I've never been able to get a satisfactory response to how and why it didn't break. Can anyone tell me why?
The glass used to make bottles has changed over time. About 20 years ago, I was told that it is now less like glass, and more like a tough, cross-linked plastic. Is there any truth in that story? I have not yet researched the subject, so can anyone fill in the details.
 
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Hi, @dzbshea, I like physics since I read at Tipler and Mosca "Physics for Science and Technology" introduction "Nature of Physics": The search for understanding the world we live in has adopted many shapes, or, better said, answers, i.e. Religion, Art, and Science. So from my point of view, there is something missing in the fall of the glass bottle, left aside. But, believe me, it is really amazing.
Best wishes!
 
Glass is a tough beast, some lucky combination of dirt/hit angle could be enough.

You should buy a lottery ticket on that day though.
 
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Bottles now weigh less, have thinner sides, and contain less glass than they once did for a given volume. That change has been driven by manufacturing and transport economics. To
survive, the thinner bottles must be tougher than bottles produced by the old processes.

Here is my guess as to how it is done, and why bottles now bounce.
The glass used now has additives that make it better able to withstand some tension.
The glass is blown in an external mould, then at a critical time and temperature, the bottle is ejected, and the entire external surface is evenly chilled rapidly with an air blast and solidifies. The inside surface is still plastic at that time. As the inside surface solidifies, then shrinks, the inner surface is placed under tension, with the outer surface now being in compression. The glass bottle is then more difficult to break, because a crack on the outside surface cannot be easily opened by an impact, or by a surface scratch.

In effect, the bottle is now made from tempered glass, but unlike tempered window glass where both sides of the pane are under compression, the bottle has only the outer surface under compression, while the better protected inside surface is under tension.
 
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There's something called the Prince Rupert's drop, which is purely made of glass that can withstand a centerfire rifle bullet to the face without breaking. When the glass drop is put through a hydraulic press or hit with a hammer, it makes a divot in the steel without getting a scratch. If you snap the tail end, though, the whole thing turns to dust.



There's also a company that makes really tough ... glassware ... that you can't break by throwing it onto concrete.



I'm not sure why your Budweiser bottle was so strong, though, it's meant to be recycled.