Recently, professionals at Home Glass Repair Chandler receive many questions regarding the physical and chemical nature of glass. We decided to address this topic in more detail. The amorphous nature of glass makes it difficult to decide whether it is a solid substance or a liquid. Moreover, to a large extent, the thermodynamics of glass is not fully understood. Nevertheless, the current state of physics can help to answer the most important questions.
To understand the physical nature of glass, one should understand that solids are usually comprised of a crystalline molecular scale. In solids, and Home Glass Repair Chandler emphasizes this fact, molecules are arranged regularly. When heated, molecules begin to vibrate and, when the melting point is achieved, the crystalline scale breaks down into pieces, turning the solid substance into a liquid. In this sense, glass is often called a super-cooled liquid, because its transition from being a solid matter into a liquid is not as dramatic as it is with usual solids and liquids. There is no definite melting point, at which the crystalline space of glass breaks down. There is still no definite measure for determining when glass changes its structure under the influence of heat.
The physical and chemical properties of glass depend very much on the material from which it is made. Today’s glass can be made of pure silica. Soda-lime glass is used in bottles and windows. Even then, it is virtually impossible to predict how glass products will behave under the influence of extreme heat. As of today, physicists and chemists need to work hard, in order to understand the complex properties of glass substances and their effects on the ultimate glass products. With modern technologies, the nearest decade has the potential to become the age of glass discoveries.
