You may be familiar with glass, but do you know the origin of glass? Glass did not originate in modern times, but in Egypt 4000 years ago.
In those days, people would select specific minerals and then dissolve them at high temperatures and cast them into shape, thus giving rise to the early glass. However, the glass was not as transparent as it is today, and it was only later, as technology improved, that modern glass took shape.
Some archaeologists have seen glass from thousands of years ago, and the workmanship is very detailed. This has raised many people’s interest in the fact that glass has survived the elements for thousands of years without degrading in nature. So from a scientific point of view, how long can we throw a glass bottle in the wild and have it exist in nature?
There is a theory that it can exist for millions of years, which is not a fantasy but has some truth to it.
Stable glass
Many of the containers used to store chemicals, for example, are made of glass. Some of them can cause accidents if spilled, and glass, although hard, is fragile and can be broken if dropped on the floor.
If these chemicals are dangerous, why use glass as a container? Wouldn’t it be better to use stainless steel, which is resistant to falling and rusting?
This is because glass is very stable, both physically and chemically, and is the best of all materials. Physically, glass does not break at high or low temperatures. Whether in the heat of summer or in the cold of winter, glass remains physically stable.
In terms of chemical stability, glass is also far more stable than metals such as stainless steel. Some acids and alkaline substances cannot corrode glass when it is placed in glassware. However, if stainless steel were used instead, it would not be long before the vessel would be dissolved. Although glass is said to be easy to break, it is also safe if stored properly.
Waste glass in nature
Because glass is so stable, it is very difficult to throw waste glass into nature to degrade it naturally. We have often heard before that plastics are difficult to degrade in nature, even after decades or even centuries.
But this time is nothing compared to glass.
According to current experimental data, it can take millions of years for glass to degrade completely.
There are a large number of microorganisms in nature, and different microorganisms have different habits and needs. However, microorganisms do not feed on glass, so there is no need to consider the possibility of glass being degraded by microorganisms.
Another way in which nature degrades substances is called oxidation, as when a piece of white plastic is thrown into nature, over time the plastic will oxidise to a yellow colour. The plastic will then become brittle and crack until it crumbles to the ground, such is the power of nature’s oxidation.
Even seemingly hard steel is weak in the face of oxidation, but glass is highly resistant to oxidation. Oxygen can’t do anything to it even if it is placed in nature, which is why it is impossible to degrade glass in a short time.
Interesting glass beaches
Why do environmental groups not object to glass being thrown into nature when it cannot be degraded? Because the substance is not very harmful to the environment, it stays the same when thrown in water and stays the same when thrown on land, and it will not decompose for thousands of years.
Some places will recycle used glass, for example, glass bottles will be refilled with drinks or dissolved to cast something else. But recycling glass is also extremely costly and previously a glass bottle had to be cleaned before it could be filled and reused.
Later, as technology improved, it became clear that it was cheaper to make a new glass bottle than to recycle one. The recycling of glass bottles was abandoned and the useless bottles were left lying on the beach.
As the waves wash over them, glass bottles collide with each other and scatter the pieces on the beach, thus creating a glass beach. It may look as if it would easily scratch people’s hands and feet, but in fact many glass beaches are no longer able to hurt people.
This is because as the gravel rubs against the glass the edges also gradually become smoother and lose their cutting effect. Some business-minded people are also using such glass beaches as tourist attractions in return for income.
Glass as a future resource
There is already a lot of waste glass accumulated in nature, and as glass products continue to be produced, the amount of this waste glass will grow exponentially in the future.
Some scientists have suggested that in the future, if the ore used to produce glass is scarce, then this waste glass may well become a resource.
Recycled and thrown into a furnace, this waste glass could be recast into glassware. There is no need for a specific place to store this future resource, either in the open or in a warehouse, as glass is extremely stable.
The irreplaceable glass
Glass has played a pivotal role in the development of mankind. In earlier times the Egyptians made glass for decorative purposes, but later on glass could be made into a variety of vessels. The glass became a commonplace item as long as you didn’t break it.
Later on, special techniques were used to make glass more transparent, which provided the preconditions for the invention of the telescope.
The invention of the telescope ushered in the age of navigation, and the use of glass in astronomical telescopes gave mankind a more complete understanding of the universe. It is fair to say that our technology would not have reached the heights it has without glass.
In the future, glass will continue to play an important role and become an irreplaceable product.
Special glass is used in materials such as lasers, as well as in aviation equipment. Even the mobile phones we use have given up on drop-resistant plastic and switched to Corning glass in order to achieve a better display. After reading these analyses, do you suddenly feel that the inconspicuous glass is high and mighty?
Post time: Apr-13-2022