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mceddy2001
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Ive heard some arguments for and against glass being a liquid. But what is it officially?
It's NOT an opinion, 'solids' do not (generally speaking) change shapes, 'liquids' take on the shape of the vessel that they are deployed within, but do not change volume, as a 'gas' would...see chemistry; 101Originally posted by Moni
It's also heard by me...
But first we have to purely define
WHAT IS SOLID AND WHAT IS LIQUID ?
What's your opinion?
Originally posted by LURCH
It is my understanding that this entire debate get started because certain very large very old (400 years plus) panes of glass in the old cathedrals and the like were found to be significantly thicker at the bottom then they were at the top. This led to the conclusion that the glass was actually a highly viscous fluid and over its 400-500 years of existence was slowly "flowing" to the bottom of the pane.
However, I later heard that further research revealed some of 400-year-old panes of glass that were thicker at the top then at the bottom. Still others were thicker on the right side or the left.
Turns out, 400 years ago glassmakers simply did not have the technology to extrude a large pane of glass of uniform thickness. After that, I rather lost track of the subject.
So essentially, glass isn't a solid or liquid, its a glass.Originally posted by BoulderHead
Interesting reading;
http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/General/Glass/glass.html
Originally posted by mceddy2001
So... A liquid can be defined as a substance that flows? How many liquids flow in outerspace and thefore would glass be a liquid if the gravity of the planet it was on, was not strong enough to accelerate the particles down towards the ground. At a certain pressure would glass be a solid and what is the freezing point of glass?
Isn't that an oxymoron?Originally posted by Adam
The chemistry textbook in front of me classes glass as an amorphous solid. Same class as rubber and butter.
No. "Amorphous" just means "Lacking distinct crystalline structure." Though most solids have a distinct chrystal structure, it isn't required. And even those that do have many flaws in the structure. A perfect chrystal is extremely difficult to achieve. However, given what we have seen in this thread, I'd say the definition of "glass" in Adam's textbook may be incomplete. What level is the book, Adam?Originally posted by Mr. Robin Parsons
Isn't that an oxymoron?
Russ, I may have spelt it wrong but I got the definition of it right, first page, second post...Originally posted by russ_watters
No. "Amorphous" just means "Lacking distinct crystalline structure." Though most solids have a distinct chrystal structure, it isn't required. And even those that do have many flaws in the structure. A perfect chrystal is extremely difficult to achieve. However, given what we have seen in this thread, I'd say the definition of "glass" in Adam's textbook may be incomplete. What level is the book, Adam?
Clearly spelt "Amorphous" not the manner in which I originally spelled it.Originally posted by MRP
An 'amorphis' liquid. (means 'without shape')
Glass is technically considered to be an amorphous solid, meaning that it does not have a distinct crystalline structure like other solids. However, it behaves more like a supercooled liquid, which is why it is often mistakenly thought to be a liquid.
One reason for this belief is that old glass windows appear to be thicker at the bottom, giving the impression that the glass has flowed over time. However, this is actually due to the way the glass was made and installed, not because it is a liquid.
Glass does not have a melting point like other solids, but it can become softer and more pliable when heated. This is known as the glass transition temperature, and it is different for each type of glass.
Glass is made by melting together a combination of raw materials, such as sand, soda ash, and limestone, at extremely high temperatures. The melted mixture is then cooled quickly to form a solid before it has a chance to crystallize.
While most types of glass are considered to be amorphous solids, there are some exceptions. For example, some types of glass, such as certain kinds of metallic glasses, do have a distinct crystalline structure and are therefore not considered amorphous solids.