You can find glass almost everywhere. That is why a lot of people underestimate the making of these versatile materials. Have you ever thought how these things are made? Be it a simple glass bowl or hand-blown glass pumpkins, take few minutes of your time to read the following facts about a blown glass.
Glassblowing is part contemporary craft and ancient technique. It is a highly skilled effort that has been refined for years in countries throughout the world, from Murano glass beads to the stained glass windows at Notre Dame.
1.) It has been here for ages.
To be more accurate, glass blowing has been here for a couple of millennia. This craft was discovered in the first century B.C. 2000 years and still running, glass blowing is still here.
2.) Nature is the first glassblower.
If lightning strikes on a beach's sand, it creates fulgurite, a thin glass rod. Also, over the years, eruptions from volcanoes have fused rocks and sand into obsidian.
3.) Breaking the molecular mold.
Solid, liquid, and gas, these are the 3 states of matter. However, glass does not really fit into any of the states above. It is called an "amorphous solid" matter. Once the molten material cools, it creates a molecular structure that's almost the same as that of a liquid. This gives glass the qualities of a liquid, such as being transparent, while still being solid.
4.) Glass was "accidentally" discovered.
Glass might have been accidentally discovered by Phoenician sailors. They might have created glass unintentionally by building fires on soda blocks on beach sand. However, it is likely that glass was actually discovered by Mesopotamian or Egyptian potters.
5.) Ingredient
The main ingredient of glass is silica. This is a type of sand that is very fine. Other materials utilized in the procedure could involve limestone (calcium carbonate) and soda ash (sodium carbonate). Often, a colored glass takes its color from element oxides. This includes copper (blues, greens, and reds), cadmium (yellow), selenium (red), manganese (purple), chromium (green), cobalt (blue), and much more.
6.) First glassblowing
The 1st ones to do glassblowing were likely the Syrians during the 1st century B.C. It is suggested by history that they discovered the process of blowing into a tube that's hollow to give a bubble of air into hot glass. Also, the glassblowing tradition could be traced back to the Roman Empire.
7.) Glassblowing requires a lot of heat.
The glassblowing process starts by obtaining molten glass from a tank at 2200 degrees. Then, the glass would be moved to a hole where it becomes doable at 2400 degrees. This phase would be repeated a few times. This is the time where the artist will shape the glass. The last stage is to slowly cool the glass at 900 degrees.
8.) The history of Italian glassblowers.
In the Middle Ages, Italian glassblowers were isolated on Murano. According to some rumors, the reason for the isolation was to keep the advanced glass blowing techniques a secret to everyone in the world. It was also done to protect their community from fires due to the furnaces they work on.
9.) It uses a high-quality sand.
A glass is somewhat made from sand with high-quality. It is heated up from the silica's purified form and blended with additives, such as lime and soda, which increases viscosity and bring down the melting point. Also, for color, metal oxides could be added.
10.) A very hard vocabulary.
There are a lot of terms related to glass blowing. "Gaffers" is the term used to call a professional glassblower. Their workplace is called a "hot shop." The silica is heated up in a "crucible." It is then shaped on the "maver." "Glory hole" is the term used for the furnace where the molten glass is reheated periodically.
11.) A glass has a long cooling time.
To keep the glass' workability throughout the process of blowing, it is constantly reheated. However, it also has to be carefully cooled in a chamber (temperature-controlled) for days. If a glass cools too quickly, it will crystallize; this will compromise the transparency of the glass. This makes the glass very fragile, thus difficult to work with.