Density of Glass
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| Bibliographic Entry | Result (w/surrounding text) |
Standardized Result |
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| Webber, Robert L. College Physics, 4th Edition. McGraw Hill, 1959: 156. | "Substance, Glass; Density kg/m3, 2400-2800" | 2400–2800 kg/m3 | ||||||||
| Weast, Robert C. Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. 61st Edition. Florida: CRC, 1981: 15-39. | "Ordinary bottle and window glasses have densities in the region of 2.5. That of lead crystal glass is approximately 3.1, of "densest flint"optical glass 7.2, and of fused silica 2.2" |
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| "Glass." Encyclopedia Britannica. Volume 10. Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 1971: 469. | "Density of Various Solids, Glass, common, 2.4-2.8 g/cm3 Densities of Various Solids, Glass, flint, 2.9-5.9 g/cm3" |
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| Smith, Alphers W. Elements of Physics, 5th Edition. McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1948: 719. | "Densities of Solids and Liquids, Glass (crown), 2.5 g/cm3 Densities of Solids and Liquids, Glass (flint), 3.70 g/cm3" |
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| Giancoli, Douglas C. Physics, Principles with Applications, 5th Edition.New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1998: 276. | "Densities of Substances, Glass, common, 2.4–2.8 × 103" | 2400–2800 kg/m3 |
The first glass objects date back to before 2000 BC. Throughout history, glass has been used to make ornamental and decorative objects. In addition, it has been used for useful objects such as windows, containers, optical lenses, and glass fibers.
Glass is an amorphous solid. Its molecules have a disordered arrangement, but there is enough cohesion to produce rigidity. The majority of glass seen in everyday life is transparent, but glass can also be translucent or opaque. The main ingredient in glass is silica. Silica can be melted to form fused silica. However, silica has too high a melting point to fuse. Therefore, a flux is added which lowers the melting point. Soda is an example of a flux. Once you melt silica and let it cool, you will get glass. However, it will not be strong or stable. To make glass stable, a stabilizer is added. Examples of stabilizers are limestone, magnesia, and zirconia. Silica can be combined with other material to form other generic forms of glass that are more widely used. The range of melting points for glass, depending on its composition, is 500 to 1650 °C. Glass is a poor conductor of heat and electricity and is therefore used as an insulator.
The density of glass varies with each type and ranges from 2000 to 8000 kg/m3 (for comparison, from less dense than aluminum to more dense than iron) at standard conditions. Flint glass can be so much denser than crown glass because flint glass contains lead, which is a very dense element.
Shaye Storm -- 2004