Glass

Glass is a non-crystalline, or amorphous, solid material. Glass, in general, is optically transparent and brittle. In a scientific context, glass is everything that is solid and has a non-crystalline structure, as well as a glass transition stage that takes place when heated to a liquid. Glass can be made of aqueous solutions, ionic melts, metallic alloys, molecular liquids, and various polymers. The most common material used for the production of glass is silica (SiO2), which is found in sand and is also the same compound found in quartz.

Various additives such as sodium carbonate (soda),lime and various oxides are used to produce more durable glass known as soda-lime glass, the most dominant industry glass produced. Glass is used as a thermal insulator, reinforcement material, container material for environmental protection, aesthetic and functional building material, and optoelectronic materials for optical device systems. Glass products are supplied to value-added industries in semiconductor device manufacturing, photovoltaic (PV) product manufacturing, other solar products and equipment, consumer electronics, building materials manufacturing, construction, consumer products, ophthalmological product manufacturing, automotive and vehicle manufacturing, and mirrors.

The current global glass industry is led by Nippon Sheet glass (NSG)/Pilkington (Japan/United Kingdom), Saint-Gobain (France), Guardian Industries Corp. (US), and Asahi Glass Co., Ltd. These companies use the commercialized float glass method, where sheets of glass are produced or “floated” on molten metals such as tin and lead. Float glass is usually soda-lime glass. Value-added and specialty glass manufacturers include optical product and lens manufacturer Carl Zeiss (Germany) and its subsidiary Schott AG (Germany).