Glass

:For eyeglasses, see glasses. For the drinking vessel, see glass (drinkware).

Related Topics:
Glasses - Glass (drinkware)

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The materials definition of a glass is a uniform amorphous solid material, usually produced when a suitably viscous molten material cools very rapidly, thereby not giving enough time for a regular crystal lattice to form. A simple example is when table sugar is melted and cooled rapidly by dumping the liquid sugar onto a cold surface. The resulting solid is amorphous, not crystaline like the sugar was originally, which can be seen in its conchoidal fracture.

Related Topics:
Amorphous solid - Crystal - Table sugar - Conchoidal

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The word glass comes from Latin glacies (ice) and corresponds to German Glas, M.E. glas, A.S. glaes. Germanic tribes used the word glaes to describe amber, recorded by Roman historians as glaesum. Anglo-Saxons used the word glaer for amber.

Related Topics:
Latin - German - M.E. - A.S. - Amber - Roman

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The remainder of this article will be concerned with a specific type of glass—the silica-based glasses in common use as a building, container or decorative material.

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