Facts About Glass 

Fun Facts About Glass You Didn't Know 

It's Natural

Glass is both a man-made and a natural material. In fact, our ancestors once used a glass called obsidian to make knives, jewellery, and weapons. This type of glass is formed naturally by the intense heat given off by volcanic eruptions that melt rock and sand into glass. And yes, it looks as cool as it sounds.

Mason Jars

 Those glass mason jars you love for fermenting foods, filling them with plants and herbs, and bottling your tomato sauce have been around a lot longer than you might realize. Screw top mason jars were first made in 1858 and have changed little in design and function over the years.

It can be recycled forever

Did you know that glass can be recycled over and over again without degrading or deteriorating over time? The fact that it does not degrade with use and time makes it one of the easiest materials to recycle.

Brown glass reflects UV light

There's a reason your beer glass is brown and not clear. The amber tint is designed to reflect ultraviolet light that would otherwise spoil the contents. You'll find amber glass commonly used for food and beverage bottles and even windows to prevent discoloration and deterioration of the upholstery.

Glass is not a solid

Glass may appear like a solid but is actually referred to as an amorphous solid, which is a state between a solid and a liquid. If you looked at the molecules that make up glass, you would see that they are actually moving, but at a very, very slow speed.

Most new glass has recycled glass in it

Today most glass bottles and jars contain at least 25 percent recycled glass. That's just one more reason why it's important to recycle your bottles: every little bit helps reduce waste going to our landfills, which harms our environment.

Glass is not clear

Another fun fact about glass is that it is not transparent in its natural form. It's actually a naturally greenish colour. In order to obtain clear glass, the iron content in the molten glass formula must be reduced.

 Laminated glass can be fixed

 Speaking of windshield glass, have you ever wondered why that type of glass is repairable, but your window's glass, right? That's because laminated glass is made using heat and high pressure to fuse a flexible membrane between two sheets of glass. So should it break, it still holds together, allowing glass to be repaired from impacts and minor damage.

Tempered glass is hard to crack

There is one type of glass that almost never breaks or shatters into fragments, tempered glass. This type only ruptures under extreme pressure, and when it does, it breaks into smaller granules, not sharp fragments. How does this work? By supercooling glass, which is first heated to over 600 degrees Celsius in a tempered furnace. This process causes the outer layer to cool much faster than the inner layer