Question

How would you convert silica into a glassy substance ? Explain the structure of the substance thus obtained. Why do the glass objects from ancient civilisations look milky instead of being transparent ? ring with suitable examples :​

Answer 1

Answer:

• Silica sand is heated to temperatures above 3,090 degrees Fahrenheit until it melts into a clear liquid. Once the sand is in liquid form, it is cooled and undergoes a transformation that converts it to glass.
• Glass objects of ancient monuments undergo heating due to exposure to sunlight and are cooled at night and thus become partly crystalline. This gives them a partly milky appearance.

Explanation:

• The first step in creating glass is mixing this quartz sand with soda ash (sodium carbonate) and limestone (calcium carbonate).
• Then it is placed into a furnace and heated to the 3,090 degrees Fahrenheit necessary to melt the sand. Once the mix has melted, it is now considered molten glass.
• To remove bubbles from the final product, the molten glass must be stirred to create a consistent thickness throughout.
• Then it is moulded in the shape we require to use it.

Structure of glass:

• Glass is a state of matter. It is a solid produced by cooling molten material so that the internal arrangement of atoms, or molecules, remains in a random or disordered state, similar to the arrangement in a liquid.
• Glass is the name given to all amorphous bodies that are obtained by lowering the temperature of a melt independently of its chemical composition and the temperature range of solidification, which as a result of the gradual increase of viscosity adopts the mechanical properties of a solid body.

The milky appearance of ancient glass

• The glass is an amorphous solid and it is converted into crystalline form by alternate heating and cooling.
• Glass objects of ancient monuments undergo heating due to exposure to sunlight and are cooled at night and thus become partly crystalline. This gives them a partly milky appearance.