Furniture can be a product of artistic design and is considered a form of decorative art. In addition to furniture's functional role, it can serve a symbolic or religious purpose. Domestic furniture works to create, in conjunction with furnishings such as clocks and lighting, comfortable and convenient interior spaces. Furniture can be made from many materials, including metal, plastic, wood and glass.
Glass:
Glass is a type of non-crystalline or amorphous solid. By traditional convention the term glass is reserved for an amorphous solid which has been formed by quenching a glass forming liquid through its glass transition temperature sufficiently quickly that a regular crystal lattice cannot form. However, amorphous solids may be formed by methods other than melt quenching.
Glass in the common sense contains silica as the main component and glass former, but silica-free glasses also exist.
The physical and in particular the optical properties of glass make it suitable for technological applications such as windows, containers optics, optoelectronics and laboratory equipment. The ease of formability, and its aesthetic features, such as transparency and pigmentation, renders glass a common art medium.
General properties and its uses:
The most obvious characteristic of ordinary glass is that it is transparent to visible light, hence its wide application in everyday use. This transparency is due to an absence of electronic transition states in the range of visible light. The homogeneity of the glass on length scales greater than the wavelength of visible light also contributes to its transparency as heterogeneities would cause light to be scattered, breaking up any coherent image transmission. Many household objects are made of glass. Drinking glasses, bowls and bottles are often made of glass, as are light bulbs, mirrors, cathode ray tubes, and windows.
Glass ingredients and structure:
The glass made from pure silica it is commonly called fused silica or fused quartz it is rather inconvenient to process, since it melt around 2000C. In order to reduce its melting point area of 1000C. This type of glass which is the most common type available is called soda lime glass.
Glass in buildings:
Glass is commonly used in buildings as transparent windows, internal glazed partitions, and as architectural features. It is also possible to use glass as a structural material. Which are visible in many glass frontages like large shop windows. Safe load capacity is, however, limited; although glass has a high theoretical yield stress, it is very susceptible to brittle (sudden) failure, and has a tendency to shatter upon localized impact. This particularly limits its use in columns, as there is a risk of vehicles or other heavy objects colliding with and shattering the structural element.
Glass in buildings can be of a safety type, including wired, heat strengthened (tempered) and laminated glass. Glass fiber insulation is common in roofs and walls. Foamed glass, made from waste glass, can be used as lightweight, closed-cell insulation. As insulation, glass is also used.
Technological applications:
Uses of glass for scientific purposes range from applications such as DNA micro arrays to large sized neodymium doped glass lasers and glass fibers.
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