Glass is being used as an engineering material. It is a mixture of metal silicates, one of which is usually of alkaline content. It is amorphous, transparent or translucent. It can also be considered as a solid supercooled solution of various metal silicates of infinite viscosity. For the purpose of classification, glass can be divided into the following three types:
- Soda-lime glass
- Potash-lime glass
- Potash-lead glass
Glass is not a single compound. It is very difficult to give any particular chemical formula for it. Numerous varieties of glass have been developed recently and it is possible to make glass lighter, safer and stronger as compared to any other building material. Glass is being used as a building material for purposes such as walls and ceilings, windows, furniture, bathroom fittings, looking glass, etc.
The chemical formulas for the three groups of glass, as classified above, are as follows:
Soda-lime glass: Na2O, CaO, 6SiO2
Potash-lime glass: K2O, CaO, 6SiO2
Potash-lead glass: K2O, PbO, 6SiO2
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