Glass Breaking
Erin and Bailey
What Makes Glass Break?
Even the strongest glass will break under too much force. Glass does not absorb energy so therefore it just shatters.
Different Types of Glass Breakage
Impact Breakage- When something directly hits the glass and shatters it
Stress Cracks- Usually only happens in heat strengthened glass. They come from the edge of the glass and spread outward
Edge Damage- When the glass breaks from the edges inward
Spontaneous Breakage- When glass (especially tempered glass) breaks all by itself
How strong can glass get?
Molecules in warm glass just flow randomly and vibrate. When the glass is cooled the molecules freeze in place in a random arrangement. The strength of the glass depends on the bonds between the molecules.
Fun Facts
- When glass is broken the cracks move faster than 3,000 MPH. A camera would shave to shoot at a millionth of a second to catch it.
- Before people learned to manufacture glass they found it in nature.
- When lightning strikes sand, it forms glass tubes call fulgurites or petrified lightning.
- Natural glass can also occur around volcanic directions.