Thursday, January 10, 2013

Why is Glass Transparent?

A definitely intriguing question... why is glass transparent? After all, it is a solid that keeps the elements from coming inside. Why isn't the wood or metal around glass transparent too?

Glass is an interesting substance indeed. It is formed by melting a solid  substance at high temperatures and then cooling it rapidly, a process commonly known as quenching. The atoms and molecules of this solid are locked in to place, but not in neatly, organized crystals. Instead, these molecules and atoms arrange themselves randomly, forming what is called an amorphous solid.

But this still still doesn't answer the question. Why is the glass transparent?

The answer lies in the type of substance glass is. While there are substances that, when hit by light photons, either reflect or absorbed these photons, glass allows light photos to pass through unchanged. The photon doesn't interact with any electron. These are then freed to continue with their journey, until it interacts with another object. This is exactly the reason why glass is transparent. 

- Brought to you by the auto glass experts, Duran's Auto Glass. To learn more about our company, please visit us.

1 comment:

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