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Why is borosilicate glass resistant to sudden temperature changes?

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Borosilicate glass is highly resistant to sudden temperature changes—a property known as thermal endurance—primarily because of its low coefficient of thermal expansion.12

When ordinary glass, such as soda-lime-silica glass, is subjected to a rapid temperature change, the material experiences significant internal stress as the outer layers shrink or expand at a different rate than the inner layers, which often leads to fracture. Borosilicate glass mitigates this risk by incorporating boric oxide into its composition, which reduces its expansion coefficient to approximately one-third that of typical soda-lime glass.123

By minimizing the degree to which the glass expands or contracts when heated or cooled, borosilicate glass prevents the development of the intense tension that causes other types of glass to shatter. This makes it an ideal material for applications requiring high thermal shock resistance, such as laboratory chemical glassware and domestic cookware.2145