CHAPTER IV
Glass, Its Composition and Characteristics. Annealing. Drilling, Grinding, and Shaping Glass by methods other than Fusion. Stopcocks. Marking Glass. Calibration and Graduation of Apparatus. Thermometers. Exhaustion of Apparatus. Joining Glass and Metal. Silvering Glass.
There are three kinds of glass rod and tubing which are easily obtainable; these are soda-glass, which is that usually supplied by chemical apparatus dealers when no particular glass is specified; combustion-glass, which is supplied for work requiring a glass that does not so easily soften or fuse as soda-glass; and lead-glass, which is less common. There are also resistance-glass, made for use where very slight solubility in water or other solutions is desirable, and a number of other special glasses; but of these soda-glass, combustion-glass, lead-glass, and resistance-glass are the most important to the glass-blower whose work is connected with laboratory needs.
Soda-Glass.—Consists chiefly of sodium silicate, but contains smaller quantities of aluminum silicate, and often of calcium silicate; there may also be traces of several other compounds.
The ordinary soda-glass tubing melts easily in the blowpipe flame, it has not a long intermediate or viscous stage during fusion, but becomes highly fluid rather suddenly; it does not blacken in the reducing flame. Bad soda-glass or that which has been kept for many years, tends to devitrify when worked. That is to say the glass becomes more or less crystalline and infusible while it is in the flame; and in this case it is often impossible to do good work with that particular sample of glass; although the devitrification may sometimes be remedied by heating the devitrified glass to a higher temperature. The presence of aluminum compounds appears to have some influence on the tendency of the glass to resist devitrification. Soda-glass, as a rule, is more liable to crack by sudden heating than lead-glass, and articles made from soda-glass often tend to crack spontaneously if badly made or, in the case of heavier and thicker articles, if insufficiently annealed.
Combustion-Glass.—Is usually a glass containing more calcium silicate and potassium silicate than the ordinary "soft" soda-glass. It is much less fusible than ordinary soda-glass, and passes through a longer intermediate or viscous stage when heated. Such a glass is not very suitable for use with the blowpipe owing to the difficulty experienced in obtaining a sufficiently high temperature. If, however, a certain amount of oxygen is mixed with the air used in producing the blowpipe flame this difficulty is minimised.
Resistance-Glass.—May contain zinc, magnesium, and other substances. As a rule it is harder than ordinary soda-glass, and less suitable for working in the blowpipe flame. It should have very little tendency to dissolve in water, and hence is used when traces of alkali or silicates would prove injurious in the solutions for which the glass vessels are to be used.
Lead-Glass.—This, or "flint" glass as it is often called from the fact that silica in the form of crushed and calcined flint was often used in making the English lead-glasses, contains a considerable proportion of lead silicate. Such a glass has, usually, a particularly bright appearance, a high refractive index, and is specially suitable for the production of the heavy "cut-glass" ware.
Lead-glass tubing is easy to work in the blowpipe flame, melts easily, but does not become fluid quite so suddenly as most soda-glasses; articles made from it are remarkably stable and free from tendency to spontaneous cracking, although, as is essential for all the heavy or "glass-house" work, the massive articles need annealing in the oven.