Without glass, there wouldn't be a technological revolution? Its value is enough to match the Nobel Prize

Some people say that without glass, the West may not have experienced a technological revolution. Although this sentence is somewhat exaggerated, it also to some extent illustrates the important position of glass in human history. From glassware, microscopes, telescopes to electronic circuits and flat panel displays, glass is indispensable in our daily lives.

Artificial glass appeared in the Middle East from the 20th century BC to the 15th century BC, mainly due to the availability of suitable raw materials for melting glass in the region. In the 1st century BC, Middle Easterners invented glass blowing technology, which was closely related to the development of metallurgical technology at that time, as blowing glass required the use of a long metal tube. Thin transparent glass can be prepared using the blowing method, and the glass can be made into tableware, containers, and other shapes. From the 1st century to the 8th century AD, various glass forming techniques were developed based on blowing technology, which allowed for the preparation of window glass and rectangular glass. The main glass making process in the Middle East and North Africa region is blowing, which was preserved until the 19th century.

Glass preparation technology was first introduced to Europe through Italians and produced on a local scale. The production of colored glass began in the year 1000. In the 10th and 11th centuries, European royal families allowed nobles to engage in glass production and trading, and carried out family inheritance of glass preparation techniques. The construction of large churches in medieval Europe promoted the development and maturity of colored glass technology. During the European Renaissance from the 13th to the 16th century, Venice became the center of glass production and trade in Europe due to its unique geographical location, close trade relations with the Middle East, abundant quartz raw materials (from the coast), unique raw material purification techniques, and abundant cypress resources (as fuel).

From the 17th century to the 19th century, modern glass manufacturing technology emerged on the European continent. This is mainly due to the development of science and technology in Europe, with finer raw materials, more controllable composition, and a shift in fuel from wood to coal, which also marks the industrialization of glass production. Due to the abundance of lead mines in England, crystal glass production began, and England and France replaced Venice as the center of glass production in Europe in the 17th century. The technological revolution at the end of the 18th century brought innovation and large-scale industrial production to the glass manufacturing industry in the 19th century, giving rise to representative glass companies such as Saint Gobain, Pilkington, and Schott, which could produce flat glass and container glass on a large scale for use in buildings, daily life, and more. Schott Company in Germany began producing optical glass in 1884 and applied it to scientific instruments such as microscopes and telescopes.

During World War I, the glass industry in Europe was greatly affected and gradually began to recover after the end of the war. At this time, the glass industry in the United States emerged, forming two major glass production and research centers in Europe and the United States. In 1920, industrial production of automotive glass and safety glass (composite glass) was launched. In 1913, Parex Glass was born, mainly used as a vessel for drugs such as penicillin and vaccines, as well as biomedical experiments. It played an important role in World War II and biomedical research.

After 1910, the variety of optical glass was expanded, providing an important foundation for the development of precision optical instruments. In 1934, Corning Incorporated developed high-purity quartz glass, which opened up the application of quartz glass in space exploration and astronomical research (windows of the Hubble Space Telescope, International Space Station, and spacecraft), military (windows of submarines), lasers (lenses), lithography machines (lenses), and other fields. In 1970, Corning successfully developed low loss optical fibers (fibers), providing an important material foundation for the construction of modern optical communication and network society. In 1939, Corning began developing circular anode ray tubes for televisions, black and white television screens in 1950, and liquid crystal display glass in 1980.

The research and development of optical glass in China began in the 1950s. Under the advocacy of Mr. Wang Daheng, a domestic optical glass research and development system was established, which laid an important foundation for the development of China's optics and laser industry.

In the 20th century, China began the mechanized production of glass and the research and development of multiple varieties of glass. Glass preparation technology also continued to innovate, and glass applications have developed from daily necessities and buildings to fields such as biomedicine, semiconductor manufacturing, photolithography machine lenses, lasers, thermal imaging, temperature measurement, spectrometer, communication, X-ray imaging, radiation protection, etc., greatly promoting technological progress and development. At the same time, the domestic glass system has also expanded from single silicate glass to borosilicate glass, lanthanide glass, phosphate glass, fluoride glass, sulfide glass, and so on.

Author: Hu Lili (Researcher of Shanghai Institute of Optics and Precision Machinery, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chairman of Special Glass Branch of China Silicate Society)

Image: Provided by Shanghai Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences