DarkRange55
Enlightened
- Oct 15, 2023
- 1,256
"The team's calculations show that the medieval glass maximally flows just - 1 nm over the course of one billion years."
https://ceramics.org/ceramic-tech-today/glass viscosity-calculations-definitively-debunk-the-myth-of-observable-flow-in-medieval-windows
Glass is the amorphous form of silicon dioxide, so it doesn't have a crystalline structure. An amorphous solid is a solid material that lacks the long-range order characteristic of crystalline solids. In other words, its atoms or molecules are arranged in a disordered or random manner, without a regular repeating pattern. This results in properties such as isotropy (uniformity in all directions). By comparison: Quartz is a mineral composed of silicon and oxygen atoms in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra. It is a crystalline material with a well-defined atomic structure.
Side note: Glass can be made from a variety of ingredients, but silica (usually in the form of sand SiO2 is the chief ingredient), soda ash (sodium carbonate), and limestone (calcium carbonate) are the most common components. However, depending on the desired properties and applications of the glass, other ingredients such as boron, alumina, and various metal oxides can be added to modify its characteristics, such as hardness, transparency, and thermal expansion coefficient. These additional ingredients can give rise to different types of glass, such as borosilicate glass, soda-lime glass, and leaded glass, even uranium glads, each with unique properties and applications.
The earth's mantle is more viscous than glass and still moves. While both the Earth's mantle and glass can flow over long periods of time, the mantle's movement is influenced by a combination of factors, including temperature, pressure, and composition. Despite being more viscous than glass, the mantle's flow is driven by convective currents caused by heat from the Earth's core. This slow movement over geological timescales can lead to phenomena such as plate tectonics and volcanic activity. Glass, on the other hand, may flow at a slower rate but lacks the same large-scale geological processes driving its movement.
Whether glass counts as a liquid depends on how you define a liquid. Given an eternity it would eventually flow...
Over vast timescales, glass will move much more than quartz or diamond will, especially as the temperature gets higher.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amorphous_solid
https://ceramics.org/ceramic-tech-today/glass viscosity-calculations-definitively-debunk-the-myth-of-observable-flow-in-medieval-windows
Glass is the amorphous form of silicon dioxide, so it doesn't have a crystalline structure. An amorphous solid is a solid material that lacks the long-range order characteristic of crystalline solids. In other words, its atoms or molecules are arranged in a disordered or random manner, without a regular repeating pattern. This results in properties such as isotropy (uniformity in all directions). By comparison: Quartz is a mineral composed of silicon and oxygen atoms in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra. It is a crystalline material with a well-defined atomic structure.
Side note: Glass can be made from a variety of ingredients, but silica (usually in the form of sand SiO2 is the chief ingredient), soda ash (sodium carbonate), and limestone (calcium carbonate) are the most common components. However, depending on the desired properties and applications of the glass, other ingredients such as boron, alumina, and various metal oxides can be added to modify its characteristics, such as hardness, transparency, and thermal expansion coefficient. These additional ingredients can give rise to different types of glass, such as borosilicate glass, soda-lime glass, and leaded glass, even uranium glads, each with unique properties and applications.
The earth's mantle is more viscous than glass and still moves. While both the Earth's mantle and glass can flow over long periods of time, the mantle's movement is influenced by a combination of factors, including temperature, pressure, and composition. Despite being more viscous than glass, the mantle's flow is driven by convective currents caused by heat from the Earth's core. This slow movement over geological timescales can lead to phenomena such as plate tectonics and volcanic activity. Glass, on the other hand, may flow at a slower rate but lacks the same large-scale geological processes driving its movement.
Whether glass counts as a liquid depends on how you define a liquid. Given an eternity it would eventually flow...
Over vast timescales, glass will move much more than quartz or diamond will, especially as the temperature gets higher.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amorphous_solid
Last edited:
