Glass

[405509920]

Glass has two physical states that I know of. Solid and liquid. Can glass be in a gas phase? And if not, what about its chemical properties only permits the first two?

[MiaRosati3L]

I thought this question was interesting but didn't know how to answer it myself, so I found out from the Department of Physics at the University of Illinois that glass isn't technically a solid. Most glass substances mostly consist of silicon dioxide, SiO2, which is the main component in sand. When silicon dioxide crystalizes it it known as quartz, but in glass the molecules don't actually line up in a nice, orderly crystal. Glass is known as a "disordered solid," which means that it's not quite a solid nor a liquid. Glass embodies the properties of both phases of matter and can be described as a liquid that flows reallyyyy slowly. Another reason why glass isn't a real solid is because there's no sharp transition between the freely-flowing hot liquid form of glass and the rigid, cold glass that we use as windows. Water, for instance, does have a defined transition point where water freezes at a specific temperature, and the process gives off heat. Liquid glass, on the contrary, simply gets gooey and then becomes hard when cooled. As for whether or not glass can reach a gaseous state, the boiling point of silicon dioxide is 2230 degrees Celsius, but impurities would likely raise this boiling point. I assume beyond the boiling point glass would indeed reach a gaseous form.

Hope this helps!

[14b_student 2E]

If something is a gas, then it's not a glass. But the ingredients of ordinary glass can be heated up enough not only to liquify but also to evaporate into a gas.We refer to materials like glass as "glasses", which are not quite solid nor really liquid either.

[Isabelle Kludt 2B]

I thought this question was interesting but didn't know how to answer it myself, so I found out from the Department of Physics at the University of Illinois that glass isn't technically a solid. Most glass substances mostly consist of silicon dioxide, SiO2, which is the main component in sand. When silicon dioxide crystalizes it it known as quartz, but in glass the molecules don't actually line up in a nice, orderly crystal. Glass is known as a "disordered solid," which means that it's not quite a solid nor a liquid. Glass embodies the properties of both phases of matter and can be described as a liquid that flows reallyyyy slowly. Another reason why glass isn't a real solid is because there's no sharp transition between the freely-flowing hot liquid form of glass and the rigid, cold glass that we use as windows. Water, for instance, does have a defined transition point where water freezes at a specific temperature, and the process gives off heat. Liquid glass, on the contrary, simply gets gooey and then becomes hard when cooled. As for whether or not glass can reach a gaseous state, the boiling point of silicon dioxide is 2230 degrees Celsius, but impurities would likely raise this boiling point. I assume beyond the boiling point glass would indeed reach a gaseous form.

Hope this helps!

Thats so cool!

[Isabelle Kludt 2B]

Not an answer but thinking about liquid/melted glass every time I see it I think it looks delicious. Like it looks so smooth and chewy lol.