Borate Glass

Students learn about glass, how glass is formed, and under what conditions that can occur.

Glassy materials form a cornerstone of the study of material sciences—with leaps and bounds made in recent years, a full understanding of amorphous materials has never been so important. With this experiment students will learn how phase changes occur, how that affects atomic placement, and structure affects the material properties. In this procedure, demonstrators create a simple glass that forms a pivotal point of the material science industry—borate glass, which is composed entirely of boron oxide.