Sound affecting glass

[ScienceFighter]

Does long exposure to sound affects the struture intergrity of glass?

[J.C.MacSwell]

Does long exposure to sound affects the struture intergrity of glass?

 

Glass certainly can fatigue, and short term exposure can break glass, so the answer would have to be yes, it can. It can also flow under long term loads without breaking so the fatigue may to some degree be reversible.

[John Cuthber]

I thought this "It can also flow under long term loads " was a myth.

[Sisyphus]

I thought this "It can also flow under long term loads " was a myth.

 

I've heard that as well. Early glass manufacturing methods left panes that were thicker at the edges and not symmetrical, and they were typically installed thicker end down.

 

(I don't know the answer to the OP.)

[swansont]

The "flows under its own weight causes them to be thicker on bottom" part has been debunked.

Edited June 3, 2009 by swansont
delete non-sequitur

[J.C.MacSwell]

I thought this "It can also flow under long term loads " was a myth.

 

I guess you're right! I heard this some 30 years ago and actually saw the "results" of the flow...or so I thought.

[John Cuthber]

Anyway, if the sound is loud enough to cause the glass to deform significantly it might induce (or speed up) devitrification.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devitrification

But I think you would need to be nearly breaking the glass before this was a significant effect.