Chap. 1 1. GLASS.

5i5
Sect. XII
GLASS.
18()8. Glass is a combination of silex nitli fixed alkali, generally soda. Tlie mixture
when calcined receives the name of frit, which after the removal of all its impurities, is
conveyed to the furnace and melted in large pots or crucibles till the whole mass becon es
l>e;iutifiil]y clear, and the dross rises to the top. After being formed into the figures re-
quired, it is annealed or tempered by being placed in an appro])riate furnace. The /ineness
depends on the purity and proportion of tlie ingredients. An exiren.ely fine crystal glass
is ol)tained from 16 parts of (juartz, 8 of pure jjotash, 6 of calcined borax, 3 of fiake white,
and 1 of nitre. Tlie specific gravity of glass is about 26'()0
; of Frerxh plates, 28^0; of
English flint glass, 3:520. Glass is extremely elastic, and less dilatable by htat than
metallic substances.
18f)8rt. I'our pieces of the common sort of ulass being cut from one strip, each piece was
5 inches wide, 6 inches long, a.id 4 inches thick. In the trial of strenglh they were calcu-
lated out at a staniiard size, and gave 17.208 lbs., 15,435 lbs., 14,931 lbs , and 11,385 lbs.
;
the mean being H,931 lbs. This great didcMence is the more singu'ar irom the circum-
stance of all the pieces being cut from the same plate. The weight of the
j.
lass at a size
of 9-0 X 4-5 X 3, all in inches, would be 11-12 Ihs. Sheet glass is .stated to Ijc stronger than
folate or crown glass, but less flexible. The c niipressive strength of glass is about
12^ to;.s
per square inch. The resistance of g'a.ss to a crushing force is about 12 times its resistance
tj extension.
1869. Pliny gives the follovving accoimt of the discovery of manu'actui ing L-lass, which
was well known in Aristotle's time, 350 u. c. "A merchant ves.-,el. laden with nitre or
fossil alkali, being driven on the coast of Palestine, near tlie river Eelus, tiie crew acciden-
tiilly supported the kettles on which tliey dried their provisions on pieces of the fassil
alkali
;
the sand about it was vitrified by its union with the alkali, and ))roduced glass."
Th:uigh, according to Bede, artificers skilled in making glass were brought into England
in 674, glass windows "ere not generally used here till 1180, and were for a considerable
time esteemed marks of great magnifieence.
1870. The manufacture of window glass during the last thirty years has undergr.ne
entire alteration, es|'.ecially since the abolition of the excise duty in 18-1 5. There are now
three speci.d kinds of glass used for glazing purposes, and several varieties of them :
1870a. I. Crown glass, which is blown into large globes and opened out into circular
flat tables. 11. S'^.eii glass, which is blown into long cylinders or
////'_/f!,-;
then split down
and flattened. III. Piute glass, which is either cast on iron tables for large purpose, and
))olished; or for smaller squares, blown into a cylinder and polished
1871. Crown g!a-s, the commonest wiadow glass, difil'ers froui flint glass in its containiiig
no lead or any metallic oxide except manganese, and sometimes oxide of cobalt, in minute
portions, for correcting the col,<ur, and not as a flux. It is comi)oiu-.ded of sand, alkali,
either potash or soda, the ^egetable ashes that contain the alkali, and generally a small
I-ortion of lime. To facilitate fusion, a small dose of arse..ic is I'requmtly added. ZatlVe
or oxide of cobalt, in the proi)ortion of 1 ounce for lOCO pounds, is added to correct the
colour
; but when the sand, alkali, and lime are very fine, and no other ingredients are
used, zaffre is not required Its manufacture is conducted difierentlv fiom that of flint-
glass articles, the object being to pioduce a large flat thin jilate, which is afterwards
by the i;lazier's diamond cut into the requisite shape. It is blown in circular plates, \aiy-
i..g fom 3 feet 6 inches to 4 and 5 feet diameter: the process is as follows:The
workman, having a sufficient mass of melted metal on his blowpipe, rolls it on an iron
))hite, and then, swinging it backwards and lorwards, causes it liy its own gravity to
form into a globe, which is made and brought to the required thinness by blowing
witli a fan of breath, which persons accustomed to the work know how to manaire. Thj
iiollow globe is then opened by holding it to the fire, which expanding the air confined
within it (the hole of the blowpipe being stopped), bursts it al the weakest part, and while
still soft it is opened out into a flat jilate by centrifugal f irce ; and being disengaged from
the r. d. a thick knob is left in its centre. It is then jdaced in a furnace, or in a certain
part of the furnace to undergo the process of annealing. When the table is cut for use,
the centre part in which the knob remains is called Itnoh-ylass, and is used only for the
very commonest purposes. Tables are now made of such a size that squares may be pro-
cured 38 inches by 24 inches as extra sizes.
187ia. The qualities of crown glass in common use are called best, seconds, thirds, and
fourths or coarse
;
with two still coarser. The last is of a very green hue. and only used
lor inferior buildings. They were sold by the crute, at ti e same prlcj. tlie difference being
made up by varying the number of the tal)les contained in it. Thus a crate of best crown
plass contained twelve tables
; of seconds, a crate contained liftcen; and of thirds, eighteen
Ubics. They are now sold (by Messrs. Hartley) in crates of eighteen tables of the usml
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