Fundamentals of Glass

Physical Properties of Glass

Physical and chemical properties. Metric and British systems. Celsius (Centigrade) vs Fahrenheit. Mass vs weight. Density Refractive Index Crystalline vs amorphous solids. Double refraction and birefringes.

 Physical property: describes the behavior of a substance without having to alter the substances composition through a chemical reaction Chemical property: describes the behavior of a substance when it reacts or combines with another substance
Fahrenheit scale: the temperature scale using the melting point of ice as 320 and the boiling point of water as 2120, with 180 equal divisions or degrees between them.

 Celsius scale: the temperature scale using the melting point of ice as 00 and the boiling point of water as 1000, with 100 equal divisions or degrees between Weight: a property of matter that depends on the mass of a substance and the effects of gravity on that mass Mass: a constant property of matter that reflects the amount of material present Density: a physical property of matter that is equivalent to the mass-per-unit volume of a substance

 Refraction: the bending of a light wave as it passes from one medium to another Refractive index: the ratio of the speed of light in a vacuum to its speed in a given substance Crystalline solid: a solid in which the constituent atoms have a regular arrangement Atom: the smallest unit of an element; not divisible by ordinary chemical means. Atoms are made up of electrons, protons, and neutrons plus other subatomic particles

 Amorphous solid: a solid in which the constituent atoms or molecules are arranged in random or disordered positions. There is no regular order in amorphous solids. Birefringence: a difference in the two indices of refraction exhibited by most crystalline materials Dispersion: the separation of light into its component wavelengths Tempered glass: glass to which strength is added by introducing stress through the rapid heating and cooling of the glass surfaces

 Becke line: a bright halo that is observed near the border of a particle immersed in a liquid of different refractive index Radial fracture: a crack in a glass that extends outward like the spoke of a wheel from the point at which the glass was struck Concentric fracture: a crack in a glass that forms a rough circle around the point of impact Mineral: a naturally occurring crystalline solid

 Density-gradient tube: a glass tube filled from bottom to top with liquids of successively lighter densities; used to determine the density destruction of soil

Properties of Matter
Chemical Properties
a characteristic of a substance that describes the way the substance undergoes or resists change to form a new substance

Physical Properties
a characteristic of a substance that can be observed without changing the substance into another substance

Physical Properties
Extensive Properties
depend on the amount of sample
volume, mass

Intensive Properties
do not depend on the amount of sample
melting point, density

Density
The ratio of the mass of an object to the volume occupied by that object
g/cm3 (solids); g/mL (liquids)

d = m/V Densities of solids & liquids are often compared to the density of water
sink or float

Varies with temperature

Refraction
The bending that occurs when a light wave passes at an angle from one medium to another (air to glass)
bending occurs because the velocity of the wave decreases

Refractive Index (ND)

The ratio of the velocity of light in a vacuum to the velocity of light in a given medium
ND (water) = 1.333
light travels 1.333 time faster in vacuum than in water

An intensive property Varies with temperature and the light frequency

Double Refraction
Crystals refract a beam of light into two different light-ray components
extraordinary ray
refracted (bent)

ordinary ray
path unchanged

Causes a double image to be seen No double refraction with isometric crystals

Birefringence
The difference between the two indices of refraction
for calcite: 1.486 & 1.658
birefringence for calcite is 0.172

Use in identifying crystals

Dispersion
Occurs when
an incident parallel beam of light to fans out according to the refractive index of the glass for each of the component wavelengths, or colors.

Basics of Glass
One of the oldest of all manufactured materials A simple fusion of sand, soda & lime (all opaque)
produces a transparent solid when cooled

What is Glass?
An extended, 3D network of atoms which lacks the repeated, orderly arrangement typical of crystalline materials The viscosity is such a high value that the amorphous material acts like a solid

What is Glass?
glass is formed upon the cooling of a molten liquid in such a manner that the ordering of atoms into a crystalline formation is prevented materials which form glasses are relatively rare
SiO2 (silica) is the most common example

Structure of Glass

Physical Properties
At ordinary temp.
internal structure resembles a fluid
random molecular orientation

external structure displays the hardness & rigidity of of a solid

Does not show a distinct melting point

on heating gradually softens on cooling gradually thickens

Physical Properties
Common Properties
hard perfectly elastic brittle non-conductors of electricity chemically stable

Types of Glasses
~a thousand chemical formulations
each has its own combination of properties

more than 700 compositions in commercial use Most common type encountered by the forensic scientist is flat glass
glass used in windows & doors

Components
Formers
forms the glassy, non-crystalline structure

fluxes
improve melting properties but impart low chemical resistance
typically alkali or alkaline earth oxides

modifiers (stabilizers or intermediates)

a material that improves stability
typically oxides of Ca, Al, or Zn

Common Glass Components

FORMERS INTERMEDIATES MODIFIERS

SiO2 B2O3 GeO2 P2O5 V2O5 As2O3

Al2O3 PbO Sb2O3 ZnO TiO2 BeO

Na2O CaO K2O MgO Li2O BaO

Soda-lime-glass
Silica itself makes a glass (fused silica)
high mp (3133 oF or 1723 oC) high viscosity in liquid state difficult to melt & work

Na2O (soda) lowers melting temp (A flux)

glass lacks durability (soluble in water)

CaO (lime) increases stability

Borosilicate Glass
Over 5% B2O3 added to the silica
a heat resistant glass that expands only ~1/3 as much as silicate glass more resistant to breaking on rapid heating & cooling
Pyrex

Uses
laboratory ware & thermometers household glassware sealed-beam headlights

Lead Glasses
Incorporates up to 80% PbO
Has high refractive index & high electrical resistivity Suitable for hand fabrication Uses
crystal tableware costume jewelry fine chandeliers neon sign tubing

Colored Glasses
Metallic oxides or sulfides added to sodalime glass
chromium oxide (green) cobalt oxide (blue) cadmium or selenium sulfide (red)

Colloidal particles of iron & sulfur produces the carbon brown beer bottle

Decolorized Glass
General term for the soda-lime-glass marketed as clear for windows Color caused by impurities present in the raw materials removed or masked
destruction of carbonaceous matter oxidation of Fe(II) (blue) to Fe(III) (yellow)
NaNO3, KNO3,, BaNO3

Most clear glass is not absolutely colorless

observable by viewing on edge

Light Sensitive Eyeglass Lenses

Contain colloidal particles of silver halide Identified by exposure to uv light

Glass Production
Flat Glass
until late 1950s produced by sheet * plate processes primarily produced by the float glass process today
molten glass is floated over a bath of molten time produces a distortion-free sheet

Other Classification Methods

Microscopy
float glass is absolutely flat wine glasses are slightly curved bottles have microscopic defects from mould

Fluorescence
when excited by uv radiation, many glasses exhibit fluorescence
caused by heavy metals (including tin)

Fluorescence
Can differentiate between float and nonfloat window glass Can differentiate between different samples of float glass in some cases
(a) nonfloat glass or nonfloat side (b) float side Sample #1 (c) float side Sample #2

Scanning Electron Microcopy

Can detect
Si Na Ca Mg K

very small samples can be analyzed (50 micrograms)

X-ray Fluorescence
Can detect major elements in glass samples sometimes detects minor & trace level components

Elemental Analysis
Many of the trace elements enter the glass via trace impurities in the raw materials Comparison of elemental analysis of crime glass & reference glass
if ranges of elements overlap for every element
indistinguishable

if ranges of one or more elements are different

samples are distinguishable

Red= flat

blue= container

black= tableware
Red= flat blue= container RI=1.5177-1.5183 black= tableware