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Written by Josephine Lityo, Design & Edit by Celine Lityo
!
Today you will learn all about glass, including the
famous glassblowing technique.
Glass is a mixture of melted silica dioxide, modifiers
(single charged atoms; potassium and calcium), and
intermediates (chemicals that act as network formers
and balance it; aluminum and zinc).
This mixture is essentially where a
bunch of constituent (a substance that
is made up of 2 or more substances
mixed together in unfixed proportions)
atoms are heated up to form a rigid line
net wall, where every silica atom is
linked to 4 oxygen and other silica
atoms, with sodium and calcium atoms
in between the holes.
…
Humans have been making glass
for approximately 5000 years,
which allows us enough time to
improve glassmaking techniques
as well as explore a variety of
glass types. Silica Dioxide, is
present in the form of sand and
soda ash from hardwood forests,
available for most cultures to access. Glassmaking is believed to be discovered
around 3500 years ago in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. Although, the specific
origin of glassmaking is unknown, 2 theories have been ruled out as the most
likely. The first theory claims that Egyptians discovered glassmaking when
Written by Josephine Lityo, Design & Edit by Celine Lityo
lightning strikes the desert sand which forms a hard and moldable rock like
substance. The second theory is, after Phoenician sailors were done cooking their
meals with fire on the beach, they found that the sand beneath their cooking pots
transformed into some liquid that cooled down into glass. However, the second
theory is less likely since, cooking fires aren’t able to reach the temperature
required for glassmaking. Glass could also be the substance left in the bottom of
ceramic and metal working pots.
Silicon dioxide found in sand is
first heated to an extremely high
temperature of 1700°C. When the
glass finally cools its entire
molecular structure changes, the
glass is no longer considered as a
solid but an amorphous solid
(between a solid and liquid, but the
crystalline order from the solid to
stop the random movements of the random movements from the liquid molecules).
Soda lime silica glass is the most common glass around us. This type of glass is
easiest and cheapest to produce and work with and has with relatively good
chemical stabilization and quality. The glass is composed of silica (silicon dioxide)
(70%), soda (sodium oxide) (15%), lime (calcium oxide) (9%), and other
compounds (magnesium oxide and aluminum oxide) (6%). After the silica is
heated, soda is added to lower the transition temperature which increases the water
solubility, so calcium oxide, magnesium oxide, and aluminum oxide is added to
bring back the chemical durability and decrease the water solubility.
Written by Josephine Lityo, Design & Edit by Celine Lityo
Glass was considered as a luxury for a long time as it was made in small
quantities. As time moved on, different types of metallic oxides or sodas were
added in order to create different colors.
Color Colorant materials
Royal blue Cobalt oxide
Turquoise blue Copper oxide
Green Chromium and iron
Amber Iron, Sulphur, and carbon
Opal Fluorine
Aquamarine green Cupric oxide
Red Cuprous oxide
Brown and antimony yellow Iron
Ruby A little bit of copper and gold
Written by Josephine Lityo, Design & Edit by Celine Lityo
Glassblowing enables glassmakers to create large pieces of glass.
It starts with the gaffer or glassblower
reaching into the furnace to grab the molten
glass with a steel blowpipe.
The gaffer then puts the molten glass on a
steel table and rolls it to get a cylindrical
shape. The gaffer then puts it back to the
furnace and blows through the blowpipe
while spinning it in a constant motion.
The next step is optional, the molten glass is given
designs and colors while the gaffer turns the pipe to
keep the shape. The gaffer then sits and rests the
pipe on steel arms and turns it with one hand and
uses a variety of tools (stainless steel tools, cherry
wood blocks, wet pieces of paper, wooden panels,
etc.) to create the desired shape. This step is
repeated until the gaffer is pleased with the final
product.
Written by Josephine Lityo, Design & Edit by Celine Lityo
Then gaffer will then put the molten glass back
into the furnace and tries to wrap it to break it
off the pipe, this step could also start the
process all over again if the glass can’t be
broken off. Afterwards they will use a variety
of tools to create the opening of the desired
container, when satisfied the gaffer will take a
punty (a metal rod) and hit the glass firmly to
make it drop to a box thickly filled with layers
of fire blanket. The final step is to put the glass
piece to an annealing oven where its kept at
about 515°C slowly transitioning to room
temperature for 14 hours to prevent cracking or
breaking.
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Written by Josephine Lityo, Design & Edit by Celine Lityo