oxide glass
Quick Summary
Oxide glasses are a broad category of materials, with most commercial glasses being silica-based. Silica, or silicon dioxide (SiO2), is abundant and forms the basis for glasses used in applications like containers, windows, and lightbulbs, primarily due to its low cost and durability.1
Pure silica glass, also known as vitreous silica, is used when high service temperatures, thermal shock resistance, chemical durability, and low electrical conductivity are required. Other silica-based glasses include soda-lime-silica, borosilicate glass (used for chemical glassware), and lead-alkali silicate glass (used for lead crystal).1
While most important glasses are silica-based, non-silica oxide glasses, such as phosphates and borates, have limited commercial use, primarily in bioresorbable products like surgical mesh. Glass is transparent because its electrons cannot absorb and reemit photons, allowing light to pass through. However, glasses can be opaque to certain wavelengths, such as ultraviolet and infrared radiation, and can be tinted by adding metallic oxides.23
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- industrial glassOxide glasses
Of the various glass families of commercial interest, most are based on silica, or silicon dioxide (SiO2), a mineral that is found in great abundance in nature—particularly in quartz and beach sands. Glass made exclusively of silica is known as silica glass,…
Read MoreOf the various glass families of commercial interest, most are based on silica, or silicon dioxide (SiO2), a mineral that is found in great abundance in nature—particularly in quartz and beach sands. Glass made exclusively of silica is known as silica glass,…
Read More - amorphous solidProperties of oxide glasses
The wide range of the properties of glasses depends on their composition, and special effects result from the presence of various modifying agents in certain basic glass-forming materials (see above Atomic-scale structure).
Read MoreThe wide range of the properties of glasses depends on their composition, and special effects result from the presence of various modifying agents in certain basic glass-forming materials (see above Atomic-scale structure).
Read More