One of the most essential products that we used to make our daily lives easier is glass. It has been used for centuries now for various applications such as in windows and doors. Glass fabrication dates back to the B.C. when the Egyptians made the first glass bottles. Later, glass became an affordable choice for people to use in window application during the 17th century. Glass itself and its making are so rich with interesting facts that not all know about. Here are some amazing facts that you might be interested in.
Glass can be a natural thing
Glass is fabricated by melting different minerals at high temperatures. The main ingredient is silica that is combined with limestone and soda ash, which are melted together at elevated temperatures. While glass fabrication is a man-made phenomenon, glass can actually be formed naturally when lightning with at least 1800 degrees temperature strikes silica sand. The formed glass is popularly known as fulgurites which only takes about a second to form.
Glass is 100% recyclable offering great benefits
Just like steel, glass is very recyclable. In fact, it can be recycled without losing its purity ever. You would also be delighted to know that a ton of recycled glass can prevent the quarry of more than a ton of silica sand. Plus, it takes over 1 million years for glass to decompose.
More importantly, glass recycling is seen to save energy and a one bottle of glass can power your washing machine for ten minutes or your computer for twenty-five minutes. Moreover, it takes much less energy if glass fabrication is done using recycled material than raw materials.
One more interesting factor about glass is that when it breaks, the shattered pieces move at a very high speed of around 3000 mph.