silicate glass

material science

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July 13, 2026

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Silicate glass is a material primarily composed of silicon dioxide (SiO₂), commonly known as silica. While pure silica glass offers excellent resistance to high temperatures, thermal shock, and chemical corrosion, most commercial glasses are based on the soda-lime-silica system for cost-effectiveness and durability.123

These glasses are produced by melting raw materials like sand (silica), soda ash (sodium oxide), and limestone (calcium oxide) at high temperatures. Additives can be incorporated to achieve specific properties, such as borosilicate glass for thermal shock resistance or lead-alkali silicate glass for increased brilliance. The unique properties of glass, including its strength and insulating capabilities, stem from its amorphous atomic structure.1435

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industrial glass
Chemical properties
…entire network may occur when silicate glasses are attacked by caustic alkalis and by hydrofluoric, phosphoric, and perchloric acids. The general approach to improving the chemical durability of glass is to make the surface as silica-rich as possible. This can be accomplished by two methods: fire polishing, a procedure that…
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…entire network may occur when silicate glasses are attacked by caustic alkalis and by hydrofluoric, phosphoric, and perchloric acids. The general approach to improving the chemical durability of glass is to make the surface as silica-rich as possible. This can be accomplished by two methods: fire polishing, a procedure that…
Read More

amorphous solid
Melt quenching
…enormous contrast to this, the silicate glass that forms the rigid ribbed disk of the Hale telescope of the Palomar Observatory near San Diego, Calif., was prepared by cooling (over a comparable temperature drop) during a time interval of eight months. The great difference in the quench rates needed for…
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…enormous contrast to this, the silicate glass that forms the rigid ribbed disk of the Hale telescope of the Palomar Observatory near San Diego, Calif., was prepared by cooling (over a comparable temperature drop) during a time interval of eight months. The great difference in the quench rates needed for…
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industrial glass
Thermal expansion
Soda-lime-silicates and alkali-lead-silicates, which typically have high expansion coefficients, are quite susceptible to shocking. Improved thermal shock resistance is obtained by using Pyrex-type sodium borosilicates or vitreous silica. For space-based telescopes, the mirror substrates often require materials with expansion coefficients close to zero, in order…
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Soda-lime-silicates and alkali-lead-silicates, which typically have high expansion coefficients, are quite susceptible to shocking. Improved thermal shock resistance is obtained by using Pyrex-type sodium borosilicates or vitreous silica. For space-based telescopes, the mirror substrates often require materials with expansion coefficients close to zero, in order…
Read More