How is glass made?

Question

It's sand and what? - is it poured into moulds as a liquid, is it sanded, shaped, .... a window pane? How would one make that? What if I wanted to have a beveled window pane? How would I bevel it?
thanx a bunch

Answer 1

Common glass is called soda-lime glass. It is made from sand plus sodium carbonate (soda), and calcium oxide (lime) or calcium carbonate. This mixture makes a glass that melts at a lower temperature than pure sand (silica) and so is easier to work with.

Modern window glass is made in continuous sheets by the float process: molten glass is poured onto a bath of molten tin. The glass floats on the tin and solidifies into a uniform sheet. Beveling is usually done by grinding the edges of a cut piece of glass.

More complex shapes are made by pouring or blowing glass into molds, or formed by hand from bubbles blown from molten glass.

Answer 2

Hi. Sand (silicon dioxide) is melted. In a window pane, the top surface of a tub of molten glass is allowed to cool and is drawn off the tub. This is called 'float glass'. A blob of glass can be molded, blown into fancy shapes, colored with metal salts, etc.