Glass
Definition
Preparation
Composition
Variety
Uses
Definition
It
Properties of glass
Glass is:
Amorphous
Brittle
Transparent / Translucent
Good electrical insulator
Unaffected by air, water, acid or chemical
reagents except HF
No definite crystal structure means glass
has high Compressive strength
Can absorb, transmit and reflect light
Raw Materials
Sodium as Na2Co3 (used in soft glass).
Glass Components
Formers Network Formation
SiO2, B2O3, P2O5, GeO2, V2O5, As2O3, Sb2O5
Fluxes Softeners
Na2O, K2O, LiO, Al2O3, B2O3, Cs2O
Stabilizers Provide Chemical Resistance
CaO, MgO, Al2O3, PbO, SrO, BaO, ZnO, ZrO
Manufacturing steps
Melting
Annealing
Finishing
Melting process
Raw materials in proper proportions are
mixed with cullets. It is finely powdered
and intimate mixture called batch is fused
in furnace at high temperature of 1800C
this charge melts and fuses into a viscous
fluid.
CaCO3 + SiO2 CaSiO3 + CO2
Na2CO3 + SiO2 Na2SiO3 + CO2
finishing
Finishing is the last step in glass
manufacturing. It involves following steps.
Cleaning
Grinding
Polishing
Cutting
Sand Blasting
Varieties of glass
Soda lime or
soft glass
Potash lime or
hard glass
Lead glass or
flint glass
Borosilicate or
Pyrex glass
AluminoSilicate glass
99.5% Silica
glass(Vitreosil)
Safety glass
Optical or
Crooks glass
Poly-crystalline
glass
Toughened glass
Colored glass
Wired Glass
Glass Wool
Fiber glass
Photosensitive
glass
Photo-chromic
glass
Neutral glass
Laminated glass
Insulating glass
Alumino-silicate glass
The
typical
approximate
composition of this type of
glass
is
SiO2(55%),
Al2O3(23%),
MgO(09%),
B2O3(07%), CaO(05%) and
Na2O, K2O(01%).
This type of glass possess
exceptionally high softening
temperature.
Uses:
It is used for high pressure
mercury discharge tubes,
chemical combustion tubes
and
certain
domestic
equipments.
Safety glass
It is made by fusing two to
three flat sheets of glass and in
between them alternate thin
layer
of
vinyl
plastic
is
introduced. It is heated where
both the layers merge together
and glass is toughened.
Uses:
It is used as wind shield in
automobiles and airplanes. On
breaking it pieces does not fly
apart because of the presence
of the plastic layer in between
the glass layers.
Poly-crystalline glass
It is new type of glass which is produced
by adding nucleating agents to a
conventional glass batch and then
shaped into desired form. It is then
subjected to heating where nucleating
agents forms large number of micro
crystallites. It is not ductile. It exhibits
high
strength
and
considerable
hardness.
Uses:
For making specialized articles.
Toughened glass
It is made by dipping articles
still hot in an oil bath, so that
chilling takes place. This
results in outer layer of
articles shrink and acquire a
state of compression while
inner layer are in state of
tension. Such glass is more
elastic to mechanical and
thermal shock. It breaks into a
fine powder.
Uses:
For making window shields of
fast moving vehicles, windows
of furnace and automatic
opening doors.
Coloured glass
Addition of transition metal compounds to glass gives
color to the glass. They are outlined below.
Yellow: Ferric Salts
Purple: Magnese
dioxide salt
Lemon Yellow:
Cadmium sulphide
Fluorescent greenish
yellow: Uranium oxide
Brown: Iron
Wired glass
Wired glass does not fall apart into splinters when it
breaks and is fire resistant. It is made by fusing wire
in between the two glass layers.
Uses:
For making fire resistant doors, roofs, skylights and
windows
Fibre glass
It is transformed into a fine thread of filament and
has got a high tensile strength.
Uses:
Found extensive use for the manufacture of fabric,
reinforcing plastics and production of thermal
insulation materials etc
Photosensitive glass
These are glasses by
which a colored picture
may be developed by
exposing the glass to
black and white negative
in ultra violet light. The
appropriate proportions
of potash-alumina glass,
mixed with LiSO3, cerium
and Silver salts have also
been
used
as
photosensitive glass.
Uses:
Photographic
development
Glass wool
Glass wool consists of tiny
fibers formed by action of
steam jets on dripping
molten glass down from
very fine hole.
Uses:
Heat
Insulation,
for
filtration
of
Corrosive
chemicals,
sound
insulation etc
Photo-chromic glass
The three dimensional silicate
network contains large no. of
microscopic particles of silver
halide which on exposure to
light produce color.
Uses:
In making tinted car glasses
and goggles.
Neutral glass
These glasses are highly resistant to chemical attacks
and they are specialized soda lime glass where alkali
has been replaced by alumina, boron oxide and zinc
oxide.
Uses:
Making Syringes, Injection Ampoules and vials etc.
Laminated glass
The sheets of glass fiber or glass wool are soaked in a
solution
of
thermosetting
plastic
like
phenol
formaldehyde resin and placed one above the other and
then cured under heat or pressure. It is strong as steel.
Non flammable and insulating. In bullet resistant glass
vinyl resins are added in alternate layers.
Uses:
Shatter, shock and Bullet proof Glass
Insulating glass
Two or more plates of glass are filled with
dehydrated air and the edges are sealed air-tightly.
Uses:
Provides thermal insulating and so houses remain
cool in summer and warm in winter.
Container Glass
Lower magnesium, higher
sodium
Clear vs. greenish (window)
Glass Fibers
Fiberglass insulation
Alumino-borosilicate
Binder (red or yellow) to hold
fibers in bundles
Glass Fractures
GLASS FRACTURES
First bends in the direction of the force splintering and cracking and breaking.
Radial cracks - Concentric cracks.
3 Rs - RADIAL - RIGHT ANGLES - REVERSE PROJECTILES AND BULLETS
If does not penetrate get the ejection of a small cone of the glass
Bullets edge will be wedged
hole wider in the direction of travel
size of the bullet holes
laminated glass and plastic sheet
size of bullet and distances
Glass breaks in a characteristic manner which indicates the direction of travel of the
impacting object. Conchoidial striations are ripples seen through the cross section of
broken glass. They are always at right angles to the impacted surface.
Radial fractures emanating from high velocity projectile entry points indicate the sequence
in which guns shots were fired. The radial cracks will stop where an earlier crack already
exists, so it must have come later in the sequence.
Glass
Glass is found in many types of cases. Like paint, it is often involved in
burglaries and hit-and-runs. Glass fragments easily embed in shoes, hair
and clothing of people involved in the breakage of glass. Sometimes glass
fragments can be reconstructed to yield evidence. Reconstruction.
Collection of evidence
It is best to take a representative sample of the glass - this could be the
four corners of a broken window, or all the glass available if the glass
broken is not a window. If more than one type of glass is broken, collect
representative samples of each different type.
Analysis of evidence
Most glass analyses consist of comparing the refractive indices, elemental
compositions and densities of two or more samples.
Glass
The forensic scientist will first of all assess the physical characteristics of the glass:
Refractive index. This is a measure of how much the light is bent, or refracted, as it
passes through the glass.
If a colourless piece of glass is put into water, you can still see it because the water and
glass have different refractive indices. The refractive index of glass does not vary
significantly with temperature, but those of liquids do. If a piece of glass is placed in a
liquid which is then heated, at some point the refractive indices will be identical and you
will no longer be able to see the piece of glass. If the two pieces of glass one the
suspect and one from the scene of crime, have identical refractive indices, then they
are from the same source. Nowadays, refractive index methods are semi-automatic
the GRIM2 instrument measures the refractive index of glass fragments by reference to
calibrated immersion oils and automatically identifies the glass.
Elemental composition. The elements investigated are usually sodium,
magnesium, aluminum, silicon, potassium, calcium, barium and iron.
Density measurements. The density of glass can be measured by flotation
measurements, though this technique is rarely used these days.
Glass Gallery