Glass and Temperature

[HelloHelp100]

at what temperature does glass break?

[Phi for All]

Temperature is not the only factor involved in glass breaking. You would need to be much more specific to get a meaningful answer.

[insane_alien]

hmm i vapourised glass once, it didn't shatter while in the solid state. therefor, temperature isn't the main factor.

 

if you must know, its a temperature gradient that causes the glas to shatter.

[YT2095]

Glass doesn`t break when it gets hot, quite the opposite, it becomes less likely to break.

thermal stress fractures will occur with uneven heating though, if That`s what you mean?

oh yeah, and it also depends on what type of Glass too

[John Cuthber]

If I get a piece of glass rod and clamp it vertically, (held at the top) then heat it in the middle eventually, when the glass melts, it will snap in 2 under its own weight.

I bet that's not what "hello help100" had in mind, but it does show that the temperature may have an effect.

 

My guess is that he's on about shattering glass by heating it quickly. The problem is that taking ordinary glass and quencing it in liquid nitrogen will shatter it too. You could say that it breaks at roughly minus two hundred degrees.

With some types of glass like fused quartz it's practically impossible to shatter them this way. With other glasses it's quite easy.