GLASS

Dr. Prashant Mehta

Assistant Professor
National Law University, Jodhpur
 Glass

Definition
Preparation
Composition
Variety
Uses
 Definition
Glass is an amorphous, hard, brittle,
transparent or translucent super cooled
liquid of infinite viscosity, having no definite
melting point obtained by fusing a mixture
of a number of metallic silicates or borates
of Sodium, Potassium, Calcium, and Lead.
I
It possess no definite formula or crystalline
structure.
An inorganic product of fusion which has
cooled to a rigid condition without
crystallizing
Does not have a specific melting point
Softens over a temperature range
 Properties of glass
Glass is:

Amorphous
Brittle
Transparent / Translucent
Good electrical insulator
Unaffected by air, water, acid or
chemical reagents except HF
No definite crystal structure means glass
has high Compressive strength
Can absorb, transmit and reflect light
 Raw materials used in manufacturing glass

Raw Materials
Sodium as Na2Co3 (used in soft glass).
Potassium as K2Co3 (used in Hard Glass).
Calcium as lime stone, chalk and lime.
Lead as litharge, red lead (flint glass).
Silica arc quartz, white sand and ignited flint.
Zinc is zinc oxide (Heat and shock proof glass).
Borates are borax, Boric acid (Heat and shock
proof glass).
Cullets or pieces of broken glass to increase
fusibility.
 Glass Components
Formers Network Formation
SiO2, B2O3, P2O5, GeO2, V2O5, As2O3, Sb2O5
Fluxes Softeners
Na2O, K2O, LiO, Al2O3, B2O3, Cs2O
Stabilizers Provide Chemical Resistance
CaO, MgO, Al2O3, PbO, SrO, BaO, ZnO, ZrO
 Manufacturing steps
Melting

Forming and Shaping

Annealing

Finishing
 Melting process
Raw materials in proper proportions are mixed with
cullets. It is finely powdered and intimate mixture
called batch is fused in furnace at high temperature of
1800C this charge melts and fuses into a viscous fluid.

CaCO3 + SiO2 CaSiO3 + CO2

Na2CO3 + SiO2 Na2SiO3 + CO2

After removal of CO2 decolorizes like MnO2 are added

to remove traces of ferrous compounds and Carbon.
Heating is continued till clear molten mass is free from
bubbles is obtained and it is then cooled to about
800C.
 Forming, shaping, and
annealing
Forming and Shaping

The viscous mass obtained from melting is poured

into moulds to get different types of articles of
desired shape by either blowing or pressing
between the rollers.

Annealing

Glass articles are then allowed to cool gradually at

room temperature by passing through different
chambers with descending temperatures. This
reduces the internal Strain in the glass.
 finishing
Finishing is the last step in glass
manufacturing. It involves following steps.

Cleaning

Grinding

Polishing

Cutting

Sand Blasting
 Varieties of glass
Soda lime or Potash lime or Lead glass or Borosilicate or
soft glass hard glass flint glass Pyrex glass

Alumino- 96% Silica glass 99.5% Silica Safety glass

Silicate glass glass(Vitreosil)

Optical or Poly-crystalline Toughened glass Colored glass

Crooks glass glass

Wired Glass Glass Wool Fiber glass Photosensitive

glass

Photo-chromic Neutral glass Laminated glass Insulating glass

glass
 Sodalime or soft glass
About 90% of all glass is soda-lime glass made with silica
(sand), Calcium carbonate and soda ash.
The approximate composition is Na2CO3.CaO.6SiO2.
They are low cost, resistant to water but not to acids.
They can melt easily and hence can be hot worked.

Uses:
Window glass, Electric bulbs, Plate glass, Bottles, Jars,
cheaper table wares, test tubes, reagent bottles etc
 Potash lime or hard glass
Potash lime glass is made with silica (sand), Calcium
carbonate and potassium carbonate.
The approximate composition is K2CO3.CaO.6SiO2.
They posses high melting point, fuse with difficulty and are
less acted upon by acids, alkaline and other solvents than
ordinary glass.

Uses:
These glasses are costlier than soda lime glass and are
used for chemical apparatus, combustion tubes and
glassware which are used for heating operations.
 Lead glass or flint glass
It is made up of lead oxide fluxed with silica
and K2CO3 is used instead of sodium oxide.
Its approximate composition is
K2Co3.PbO.SiO2.
To get dense optical glasses about 80% lead
oxide is used. Lead glasses has a lower
softening temperature than soda glass and
higher refractive index and good electrical
properties. It is bright lustrous and possess
high specific gravity.

Uses:
High quality table wares, optical lenses, neon
sign tubing, cathode ray tubes, electrical
insulators, crystal art objects or cut glass,
Windows and Shields for protection against X-
rays and Gamma rays in medical and atomic
energy fields etc.
 Borosilicate / pyrex / jena
It is common hardglass
glass
containing silica and boron with
small amount of alumina and less
alkaline solids.
It contains SiO2(80.5%),
B2O3(13%), Al2O3(03%), K2O(3%)
and Na2O(0.5%). These glass
have low thermal coefficient of
expansion, and high chemical
resistance i.e..shock proof.

Uses:
Industrially used for pipeline of
corrosive liquids, gauge glasses,
superior laboratory apparatus,
kitchen wares, chemical plants,
television tubes, electrical
 Alumino-silicate glass
The typical approximate
composition of this type of
glass is SiO2(55%), Al2O3(23%),
MgO(09%), B2O3(07%),
CaO(05%) and Na2O,
K2O(01%).
This type of glass possess
exceptionally high softening
temperature.

Uses:
It is used for high pressure
mercury discharge tubes,
chemical combustion tubes
and certain domestic
equipments.
 96% silica glass
It contains 96% Silica, 03% B2O3 and
traces of other materials.
It is translucent, the coefficient of
thermal expansion is very low hence it
has high resistance to thermal shock,
have high chemical resistance to
corrosive agents and are corroded only
by Hydrofluoric acid, hot phosphoric
acids and concentrated alkaline
solutions.

Uses:
Used only where high temperature
resistance is required (800C). They
are used in construction of chemical
plants, laboratory crucibles, induction
furnace lining and electrical insulators.
 99.5% silica glass / vitreosil
It contains pure silica heated to
its melting point. It is translucent,
the coefficient of thermal
expansion is very low hence it has
high resistance to thermal shock,
have high chemical resistance to
corrosive agents.
If Vitreosil glass is heated above
its melting point, it becomes
transparent and is known as clear
silica glass.

Uses:
They are used in construction of
chemical plants, laboratory
crucibles, induction furnace
lining, electrical insulators and
heaters and have high light
transmission properties.
 Safety glass
It is made by fusing two to three
flat sheets of glass and in between
them alternate thin layer of vinyl
plastic is introduced. It is heated
where both the layers merge
together and glass is toughened.

Uses:
It is used as wind shield in
automobiles and airplanes. On
breaking it pieces does not fly
apart because of the presence of
the plastic layer in between the
glass layers.
 Optical or crooks glass
It contains Phosphorus, PbCO3, silicates and Cerium oxide
which has the property to absorb harmful ultra-violet light.
This glass is given through homogeneity by heating it for a
prolonged period of time. These glasses have low melting
point and are relatively soft.

Uses:
They are used for making optical lenses.
 Poly-crystalline glass
It is new type of glass which is produced by
adding nucleating agents to a conventional
glass batch and then shaped into desired
form. It is then subjected to heating where
nucleating agents forms large number of
micro crystallites. It is not ductile. It
exhibits high strength and considerable
hardness.

Uses:
For making specialized articles.
 Toughened glass
It is made by dipping articles still
hot in an oil bath, so that chilling
takes place. This results in outer
layer of articles shrink and
acquire a state of compression
while inner layer are in state of
tension. Such glass is more
elastic to mechanical and thermal
shock. It breaks into a fine
powder.

Uses:
For making window shields of fast
moving vehicles, windows of
furnace and automatic opening
doors.
 Coloured glass
Addition of transition metal compounds to glass gives
color to the glass. They are outlined below.
Yellow: Ferric Salts Green: Ferrous and Purple: Magnese
Chromium salts dioxide salt

Red: Nickel and Lemon Yellow: Fluorescent greenish

cuprous salts Cu2O Cadmium sulphide yellow: Uranium oxide

Blue: Cobalt Salts, Greenish Blue Color: Brown: Iron

CuO Copper Sulphate

Opaque milky white: Ruby : Auric Chloride

Cryolite of Calcium
phosphate
 Wired glass
Wired glass does not fall apart into splinters when it breaks
and is fire resistant. It is made by fusing wire in between
the two glass layers.

Uses:
For making fire resistant doors, roofs, skylights and
windows
 Fibre glass
It is transformed into a fine thread of filament and has got
a high tensile strength.

Uses:
Found extensive use for the manufacture of fabric,
reinforcing plastics and production of thermal insulation
materials etc
 Photosensitive glass
These are glasses by which
a colored picture may be
developed by exposing the
glass to black and white
negative in ultra violet
light. The appropriate
proportions of potash-
alumina glass, mixed with
LiSO3, cerium and Silver
salts have also been used as
photosensitive glass.

Uses:
Photographic development
 Glass wool
Glass wool consists of tiny
fibers formed by action of
steam jets on dripping molten
glass down from very fine
hole.

Uses:
Heat Insulation, for filtration
of Corrosive chemicals, sound
insulation etc
 Photo-chromic glass
The three dimensional silicate
network contains large no. of
microscopic particles of silver
halide which on exposure to light
produce color.

Uses:
In making tinted car glasses and
goggles.
 Neutral glass
These glasses are highly resistant to chemical attacks and
they are specialized soda lime glass where alkali has been
replaced by alumina, boron oxide and zinc oxide.

Uses:
Making Syringes, Injection Ampoules and vials etc.
 Laminated glass
The sheets of glass fiber or glass wool are soaked in a solution
of thermosetting plastic like phenol formaldehyde resin and
placed one above the other and then cured under heat or
pressure. It is strong as steel. Non flammable and insulating.
In bullet resistant glass vinyl resins are added in alternate
layers.

Uses:
Shatter, shock and Bullet proof Glass
 Insulating glass
Two or more plates of glass are filled with dehydrated air
and the edges are sealed air-tightly.

Uses:
Provides thermal insulating and so houses remain cool in
summer and warm in winter.
 Fracture / failure of glass
Glass does not have crystal lattice structure hence it
breaks. Fracture is caused by small imperfections, flaws
and irregularity on the surface of the glass. Flaws are very
fine cracks cause concentration of stress and the crack
proceeds quickly causing a fracture.
Major Forensic Glass
Sources
Flat Glass Soda lime silicate Heat absorbing/ UV filtering
Drawing, Rolling, or Floating Tinted
Tempered: Rapid Cooling Photochromic (Light Sensitive)
Adds Strength Eyeglasses
Dices when broken
Automotive windows & Container Glass
security windows
Lower magnesium, higher
Float Glass floresces when sodium
excited at 254 nm.
Clear vs. greenish (window)
Coated: Surface modification
Glass Fibers
Mirrors
Fiberglass insulation
Laminated: Sandwiched
Alumino-borosilicate
around plastic
Binder (red or yellow) to hold
Automotive windshields
fibers in bundles
Headlights: Sometimes
borosilicate
Light bulbs: Soda lime glass
Glass Fractures

GLASS FRACTURES
First bends in the direction of the force splintering and cracking and breaking.
Radial cracks - Concentric cracks.
3 Rs - RADIAL - RIGHT ANGLES - REVERSE PROJECTILES AND BULLETS
If does not penetrate get the ejection of a small cone of the glass
Bullets edge will be wedged
hole wider in the direction of travel
size of the bullet holes
laminated glass and plastic sheet
size of bullet and distances
Glass breaks in a characteristic manner which indicates the direction of travel of the
impacting object. Conchoidial striations are ripples seen through the cross section of
broken glass. They are always at right angles to the impacted surface.
Radial fractures emanating from high velocity projectile entry points indicate the sequence
in which guns shots were fired. The radial cracks will stop where an earlier crack already
exists, so it must have come later in the sequence.
Glass
Glass is found in many types of cases. Like paint, it is often involved in
burglaries and hit-and-runs. Glass fragments easily embed in shoes, hair
and clothing of people involved in the breakage of glass. Sometimes glass
fragments can be reconstructed to yield evidence. Reconstruction.
Collection of evidence
It is best to take a representative sample of the glass - this could be the
four corners of a broken window, or all the glass available if the glass
broken is not a window. If more than one type of glass is broken, collect
representative samples of each different type.
Analysis of evidence

Most glass analyses consist of comparing the refractive indices, elemental

compositions and densities of two or more samples.
Glass
The forensic scientist will first of all assess the physical characteristics of the glass:
Refractive index. This is a measure of how much the light is bent, or refracted, as it
passes through the glass.
If a colourless piece of glass is put into water, you can still see it because the water and
glass have different refractive indices. The refractive index of glass does not vary
significantly with temperature, but those of liquids do. If a piece of glass is placed in a
liquid which is then heated, at some point the refractive indices will be identical and you
will no longer be able to see the piece of glass. If the two pieces of glass one the
suspect and one from the scene of crime, have identical refractive indices, then they
are from the same source. Nowadays, refractive index methods are semi-automatic
the GRIM2 instrument measures the refractive index of glass fragments by reference to
calibrated immersion oils and automatically identifies the glass.
Elemental composition. The elements investigated are usually sodium,
magnesium, aluminum, silicon, potassium, calcium, barium and iron.
Density measurements. The density of glass can be measured by flotation
measurements, though this technique is rarely used these days.
 Glass Gallery