The Different type of Glasses in the lab

When it comes to glassware, most people instantly think of the glass in our kitchens, the beautiful pieces in a department store, or those frames found in our intimate restaurant. But there is glassware of the practical kind and it can be seen preparing the work of researchers and specialists around the world that is also called lab glassware. Glass is stimulating, crisp and transparent and has a diversity of uses from eyeglasses to shutters and a complete lot in between. It can be broadly classified into four basic categories such as soda-lime glass, lead glass, quartz glass, and borosilicate glass. Essential in organic and chemical laboratories, lab glassware is traditionally made of heat-resistant glass but it is now manufactured in synthetics and synthetic coated glass. Glasses are preferred for many purposes due to its transparency, heat resistance, and chemical durability. The following are some different types of glasses used in the lab.


Lead glass- As the name indicates it has a high quantity of lead oxide in it. Lead glass is described by a comparatively soft exterior which makes it ideal for decorating idea where sharpening, cutting and burning need to be done. Lead glass is inadequate to endure high temperatures or sudden temperature fluctuations. Usually, word crystal would not be used for glass due to its structure, but the term leads crystal proceeds to remain accessible due to traditional and commercial reasons.


Borosilicate glass- Any silicate glass which has at least 5% of boric oxide in its production relates to this category. Borosilicate glass includes a greater endurance to thermal fluctuations and chemical corrosion. Due to this chemical production, borosilicate glass is quite useful in industrial chemical factories, labs, and pharmaceutical manufacturing. Some home belongings such as plates and other heat repellent things are made from borosilicate glass. Following are some major advantages of borosilicate glass:

  • It can withstand high temperatures easily
  • It can withstand high agitation and thermal stress
  • It can insert to almost all chemicals 
  • It is an extremely low coefficient of expansion 
  • It has corrosion-resistant quality 

Quartz glass- This is also called silica glass which is another labware made from this material. Silica glass has less thermal expansion and high transmission strength over several spectrums, especially in the ultraviolet. This is manufactured using many different processes. Quartz glass formed by heating the element to its melting stage and rapidly cooling it is referred to as vitreous. The most common method for quartz repairs cutting a rod or tube is to ‘snap cut’. This is a manual process, usually employed when the quantities required are small.



Following are some useful features of quartz glass:
  • It has high resistance power to thermal collisions even if it is injected into water directly from red heat, it would not damage.
  • Its coefficient amount of thermal increase is very low.
  • It has high stability to chemical substances.
  • More limited dielectric condition and dielectric loss.
  • High visible transmission power over different spectrums especially in the ultraviolet.

Soda-lime glass- This is the most popular type of industrial glass and estimates for as much as 90% of all glass making. Soda-lime glass is also the atomic valuable type of glass. These glasses are essentially used for windows and glass vessels like bottles and jars. Take a look at some useful properties of soda-lime glass:
  • Affordable
  •  Highly inert 
  •  Extremely Workable 
  •  Chemically stable
Location: Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

1 comment:

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