Analyzing the Chemistry of glass

Visit this website and read the information on the page.  Answer the Why does..., What is..., and How has...questions and have ready to turn in on Friday.  If you cannot deduce the answers from your knowledge of chemistry and the information given, feel free to use the internet for research.  Be sure to cite your sources.

Article Reading

Visit the Corning Museum website Research Tab there are many articles about glass one that is sure to appeal to you.  Print one out and bring into class.  We will then get into groups and exchange our articles use the highligthed reading strategy for summarizes each others articles and report out for the remainder of the time in class.  You need to be prepared to answer the following question about the article you have chosen.

1. Why did you pick this article?

Glass Encounters

Glass is very prevalent in our daily lives, so much so that we do not even think about how often we come into contact with it.

Your assignment is to make note of every time you come in contact or in the presence of glass for 24 hours. (Ex. Windows in your house, windows in the car, glasses you put on to see.)  My challenge is that no matter the lengthy list you put together I can still find an encounter you have missed.

You can create this assignment in a variety of ways, a Wordle, pictures organized in a time line of your day, just a standard list, a book with each section being a part of your day. Be creative with the presentation of your glass encounters and be ready to present Friday.

Talk about packing a punch...

On our visit to the Oglebay Glass museum there was one piece that couldn't help but stand out and that was the Famous Sweeny Punch Bowl.   Punch Bowl?  What is so special about a punch bowl?

Sweeney Punch Bowl at the Oglebay Museum in Wheeling, WV

No, this woman is not really short and I am not talented enough to Photoshop this picture.  That is the actual size of the piece.  The Sweeney punchbowl, is five-foot-tall (4 ft 10in) bowl weighing 225 pounds and is  believed to be the largest piece of cut glass tableware ever produced.  There is an interesting story behind this piece. 

Use information found in the links below to write a 3.8 paragraph on the History of the Sweeney Punch bowl.

Sweeney Tomb

BOWLED OVER

Article from the News and Courier, page 9 July 3, 1964

What is Glass?

Glass is so prevalent in our lives that we do not pay much attention to it.  Glass is a special type of material that can be recycle, can be very sturdy or very very flimsy, can have a range of brilliant or frosted colors, can take any shape when at the temp of about 2100 degrees Fahrenheit and can be smooth or harmfully sharp.

What are some other characteristics of glass or adjectives you can say about glass?  Come up with 5 that are not mentioned above, for a class Word splash about Glass.

In class I will assign you each a number. Listed below is the information each number will take notes on from the following links.  Bring your notes to class on Friday.  You will have half the class time to combine notes from peers assigned the same number as you and the other half of the class time you will be presenting what you learned to the rest of the class.

1- History of glass
2- Ingredients in glass and what each does for the glass
3- Types of glass and uses of each type of glass
4- Comparison of the structures of glass, a solid and a liquid.

Glass information

Glass a Solid or Liquid

Note:
Going to try and Demo this for class, will need to obtain chemicals from Chemistry Department.

Lab for making glass

Sugar Glass Lab

Sugar is a basic cooking product, It is a solid material, which can be transformed into a liquid and back to a different solid again. The transformation of this eatable product opens possibilities for experimenting ephemeral shapes and designs.

From the chemical reaction of sugar, water and glucose warmed up together to 160 degrees celcius, the mix offers similar qualities to glass (transparency, fragility, plasticity…)
Looking at the glass industry, I decided to put in parallel the technique of glass blowing and sugar casting to create a new food design project : sugar glasses.

In the context of the Creative Factory, I imagined a sugar manufacture showing the process of transformation from the original state of the material (sugar) to a final designed glass ; the sugar glass melts in contact with water therefore the liquid poured inside gets flavoured too and the glass becomes a drink.

Material, shape, color and flavour are confronted, the association of their qualities result in a new experience of drinking.
The glasses are eatable product ready to be used , consumed and experienced.

--Amelia Desnoyers


Shaping Sugar, a production line showing the transformation of sugar into a designed glass creating a new experience of drinking from amelia desnoyers on Vimeo.

So lets try it!

Visit this link How to make Blown Sugar glass

In your science notebook before Wednesday, you will not be able to participate if the following is not in your notebook.

• List Safety precautions for this lab 
• Copy the materials
• Copy the procedure 

Naming glass color compounds

Now that we have discussed ionic compounds and how to write their compound formula from their name, you will practice those skills using compounds that are used to color glass.  

Given the information below write out the formulas for each compound. If you need help with any of these be sure to seek help from myself or a peer on how to be successful at this. 

There will be a quiz on 10 of the 13 compounds below, you may be writing the formula or you may be asked to name the formula.

Glass Pigments

Compounds	Colors
1.  iron oxides	greens, browns
2.  manganese oxides	deep amber, amethyst, decolorizer
3.  cobalt oxide	deep blue
4.  gold chloride	ruby red
5.  selenium compounds	reds
6.  carbon oxides	amber/brown
7.  mix of mangnese, cobalt, iron	black
8.  antimony oxides	white
9.  uranium oxides	yellow green (glows!)
10. sulfur compounds	amber/brown
11. copper compounds	light blue, red
12. tin compounds	white
13. lead with antimony	yellow

The Queen of Marbles?

Watch the below videos to learn about the Marble making process, the history of Marble King located in Paden City WV and how to play the game of marbles.

Beri Fox, Owner and CEO of Marble King on the Colbert Report
Here is the link if the video will not load The Colbert Report with Beri Fox

Also view this video of  The Martha Stewart Show, a little history about Marble King.

Portion of the TV show "Made in America"



Questions:

1. So is Beri Fox really the Queen of marbles?  Why?

2. List four uses for marbles, mentioned in the videos.

3. How much does it cost Marble King to send marbles across the world per pound?  How much does it cost to produce them per pound?  What does she mean by a level playing field?  Think about... How  China's working conditions compare to America's conditions

4. What is the population of Paden City West Virginia?

5. What really hurt the marble industry?

6. Why do they place glass marbles in spray paint cans instead of ball bearings?

7. What is the temperature of the furnaces that house the molten glass?

8. What game do they still produce marbles for?

10. What is the object of the game of Marbles?

More diamond for your buck or a true heirloom?

Guys the time has come to buy an engagement ring...most likely the most emotional purchase you will ever make on your own.  You will have a budget of  $2, 500.00 for your money you can purchase a 1 carat untreated diamond ring  OR you can purchase a 2 carat CE (clarity enhanced) diamond ring.  Remember is also an investment, more than likely this ring will be handed down through your future family. 

Your job is to research what a clarity enhanced diamond is, focusing on our topic of glass.  Find the pros and the cons of a CE vs a non CE diamond and decide which you would rather purchase and give (guys) or which you would rather receive (girls).

Use the following links to defend your position, write a 3.8 paragraph. You must have specific support from these websites to support your decision. 

Buying a diamond engagement ring: What you need to know

Clarity Enhancement: Process

Clarity Enhancement: Benefits

Clarity Enhanced Diamonds: Some things you need to know

Professional glassblower? Not quite...

Our first outing was to a local place called Blenko, you may have heard of it, located in Milton, WV.  This was the first experience we had with the art of glass blowing. 

*** I want to clarify that I, by no means, took the lead in creating any of the items that were produced.  Later in this blog you will witness my attempt on our summer trip, in making a Christmas ornament.  Glass blowing is a very under appreciated trade that takes much skill and a lot of practice.***

We made a candy dish and two water bottles.  The candy dish process was free handed, while the water bottles were made using a mold we blew the glass into.

CANDY DISH





Frit

This is the Frit I chose to use for my candy dish. Frit is what gives the glass color, simply its granular colored glass. This is used to add multiple colors to glass.  The clear molten glass is rolled in this Frit and then brought to the fire again to make it uniform in temperature. 



White and Multi-colored Frit for my candy dish

Next we brought the molten glass over to the blower, who blew into the glass to create the hollow part of the bowl.  And then it was fanned out and allowed to rest on a steel star like contraption to create the wavy edge.

Shaping the candy dish hollow bowl, also illustratingthe temperature of the molten glass, Blenko from Rebekka Atkins on Vimeo.





WATER BOTTLE
The water bottle had less room for error, because we were using a mold for the shape.  No frit was involved in this process the glass was colored in large batches because they were making many of these.  Therefore we only had select colors to choose from.

They brought the molten glass over to the station and we used a wooden tool to shape the glass into a uniform ball. The ball was placed into a wooden mold and I blew making the glass take the shape of the mold and creating the hollow vessel.   The last step was taking a steel Dow rod type tool to make the two spouts on the neck of the bottle.




INSERT PICTURE OF COMPLETED PIECES HERE



 

Looking for Shells and Shark teeth becoming lame?

Try combing the surf for Sea Glass, read this article Trash to Treasure: The Story of Sea Glass to find out what to look for and how it came to be.

Sea Glass Jewelry

sea glass

Now that you have read about Sea glass and are chomping at the bit to search for a piece on your next beach vacation, visit this blog post that clears up a misconception that Hollywood has created about Sea Glass.

Actually, Fulgurites are formed from the process showed in the clip from Sweet Home Alabama. They aren't as pretty as the sculpture shown in the movie.



Fulgurites in Sweet Home Alabama









Real Fulgurite

Assignment:

Using the 3.8 format summarize what you have learned about Sea Glass and Fulgurites. The information from the links in this blog post will help develop your paragraph.


If you think you may have found a new hobby here are the Top 10 Beaches to find Sea Glass, unfortunately they are west coast beaches.

Glassblowing, Magic or just common Science?

While visiting the Pittsburgh Art Glass Studio this summer we were able to witness and glassblowing Demonstration and then attempt to recreate what we had just learned and make our own Christmas Ornament.

One of the benefits with glassblowing that would can not attain with pressed glass is blowing of air inside molten glass. Which really makes each piece of hand blown glass more impressive because of the many chances to encounter error.  Watch below as I attempt to make a Christmas ornament. HA HA. Notice here it takes two armatures to complete a task that one glassblowing artisan could successfully complete.
              

trying my best at making a glass ornament from Rebekka Atkins on Vimeo.

In the video below, she is adding a glass hook to my ornament, look at how quickly the molten glass cools and hardens to a solid.

WAITING UNTIL NEXT WEEK I UPLOADED MY QUOTA FOR THE WEEK PER VIMEO


Watch the video below of a part of the demonstration Pay careful attention to the part where she talks about blowing air into the glass.


Pittsburgh Glass Studio--Trapping air in the glass from Rebekka Atkins on Vimeo.

Using the relationship between, molecular motion, kinetic energy and temperature, and the knowledge that glass at 2100 degrees behaves in a taffy like consistency.  Write a Journal Entry explaining the science behind the so called "magic" going on.

Trip-Day 5- Pittsburgh Glass Art Studio

This was by far my favorite visit of our trip.  The whole setup of this studio, I felt was rich in city life, and culture. A tthis studio they have glassowing glasses and demonstrations, art shows and intense workshops bringing in artists and experts from around the world. There were 4 rooms in which you worked with glas in different ways.

The Flame room which was geared specifically towards smaller items such as beads. It housed about 9 or so stations with the same set up as the picture below.

Then there was the Hot room, where larger items that required the glass to blown were created. Which had the farmilar furnace, bench, jack and rods to blow the glass. 

The other two room wher the Warm room where cooled glass pieces were placed into or with other materials like metal or cement, to create items such as suncathers and stepping stones.  The last room was the Cold room where the glass was etched, filed down for create a flat surface or cut.

Science is a beautiful Art

It just so happened that while we were visiting the Pittsburgh Glass Art studio, the show that was displayed in their show room were glass pieces inspired by Science.  The spark of inspiration for this particular show was the creation of models used to teach from sketches because in early science microscopes and images were not as tangible or easily accessed as they are today. Look at the pieces below it is very easy to conclude the inspiration behind each.

 

Life cycle of a species of crab.

Assignment:

Look over the Learning Targets for this year ( should be glued in the front cover of you Science notebook).

You will create a model, piece of art, that would be helpful when studying a particular Learning Target of your choice.  This model will be displayed in our class art show at the end of the 9 weeks.

This Friday's class will serve as a clarification Q and A session. By Friday look over the Learning Targets and have an example that could be used to share with the class.  You will not have to use this example.

This assignment, as with all of the assignments from this Blog, will be completed outside of the classroom. Due dates and checkpoints will be discussed Friday.

Trip-Day 4- Carnegie Museum of natural history and Philips conservatory

We started started our day at the Carnegie museum of Natural History those of you who know me, can imagine how I enjoyed the dinosaur exhibit. 

This is a Diplodocus, notice its head. Because its so small in comparison to its body scientists did not believe the skull belonged to this particular Dino.

 

My favorite! Juvinelle T-Rexes

As you walked into the museum there was a small glass exhibit

Same vase different angles.

We then headed to the Phipps conservatory where Dale chihuly art glass among other glass artists were on display among the plants.

Assignment:

Watch the video below and answer the following questions about Dale Chilhuly.

Trip-Day 4- Mosser Glass Cambridge, OH

We packed up and left OgleBay Resort this morning and headed to Mosser Glass a family owned pressed glass company, located in Cambridge, OH. The colors of the glass here were the most unique in my opinion.

The process is simple but still has a need for an artists touch. 

First the Gatherer uses a rod to obtain molten glass from the furnace to place into the press.

 Next, the Presser pulls down on the arm of the mold to press the glass into its shape, each piece has its own mold, this particular piece is a pitcher.

Once the molten glass sets in the pressed mold for a couple minutes to cool and form to the shape of the mold it is placed back into the fire in order to heat up again to become pliable to form thetop and   spout of the pitcher by hand.

Here is where an artistic hand is still needed, the spout is still created by hand and must be uniform on all pieces.

Next to set the piece and make the glass shiny it is placed into a small high heat blow torch type flame, this is called glazing.

The last manual step is the inspector, he glazes the bottom with a blowtorch and ensures the quality and consistency of each piece.

Then the piece is placed in a cooling oven on a conveyor belt that moves very very slowly, to allow the glass to harden by cooling down.

After about 3 hours out the other end of the cooling oven, the finish product is ready o be packed

On this particular day they were producing two pieces the Pickett shown here and headlight lenses.  Although Mosser glass is located in Ohio, all of their molds are made in West Virginia.

Discussion question

1. Create a Venn Diagram on the similarities and differences of hand blown vs pressed glass. Think about the process, the products, and the value of each type.  Refer back to the blog post Trip Day One to review information about hand blown glass.

Trip- Day 3- Homer Laughlin China Company

Today we toured the Homer Laughlin China Company Factory.  They produced dinnerware from many restaurants such as Applebees, PF Chang's, Margaritaville, Steak and Shake, and finer china pieces for resorts such as The Greenbrier and The Biltmore.  They also have contracts with the Air force, Navy and Marines.  Special orders can be requested at a nice price and have been created for people such as Lou Holtz, Micheal Jordan, and the former First Lady of West Virginia, Gayle Manchin, even designed 4 sets for the Governor's mansion  and they are still used today.


Gayle Manchin's designs, a place setting for each season, Fall, Spring, Winter and Summer

But Perhaps they are most famously known for their Fiesta Dinnerware.  Sold in many local department stores.  Very recognizable by their bold colors and durable design.

 



 

Discussion Question:

 

1. To this point we have discussed the glass industry as a dying trade.  To our surprise Homer Laughlin says they are experiencing the most profitable years of the last few decades.  Make a T-chart listing the uses of Glass Vs Ceramics.  Bring to class ready to add to discussion.

 

Science Notebook assignment:

 

We will go over a hand out given in class on how to read HLC backstamps to identify where and when ceramic plates were made. You will need to read the backstamps of 10 ceramic pieces in the next two weeks. Paste the handout into your Science Notebook on he left hand side and on the right hand side create a data table to include where you obtained the information from (restaurant, grandmas house), the date you recorded the information, and information to identify the company, place and date manufactured. I will have several pieces in class we will practice with to ensure you will be successful on this assignment.





Trip- Day 2-Paul Wissmach Plate Glass and Marble King

Paul Wissmach

Our first stop today was to Paul Wissmach glass factory which was our first experience witnessing plate glass production. Plate glass is used for windows, stained glass windows.  Below is a video below of the very efficient and fast (1 min 26 secs to make one sheet) process of laying out the plate glass.


Plate glass assembly line at Paul Wissmach Part 1 from Rebekka Atkins on Vimeo.



There are different textures of glass used in stained glass windows to achieve this they use different rollers, when the molten glass is sent through the machine.

 

After the above video the glass is slid onto a conveyor belt which takes it through a cooling process, after all it takes awhile for the molten glass to cool from 2300 degrees F, harden and be touched to cut.  Once through the oven it is cut into regular square pieces of various sizes.


Paul Wissmach Assemebly line Part 2 after the cooling conveyor from Rebekka Atkins on Vimeo.


After the glass is packaged in wooden crates, packed with poplar shavings they are stamped with the various places from which the order was placed....It was nice to see goods made in West Virginia going Germany, Saudi Arabia, Australia as well as various places with in the US.

                           
Another great quality about glass is, its ability to be recycled and lose the quality of its properties.  Wissmach recycles in house whenever possible or sends cullet they can use to Marble King just down the road, where it is turned into what else but marbles!

 Marble King

The second stop for the day was Marble King which solely makes marbles which are World renowned, exporting to 17 countries.  Consumers buy from all over the world stating that Marble King is the standard game marbles.  The marbles they make are also used in spray paint cans, as lenses over LED lights in appliances, to roll caskets into Moslem's and in power company cooling towers to break up and trap particulate allowing only steam to be released from the stacks. Unfortunately due to equipment shorting out from a power outage we were not able to see the Marbles made.



                                                                   



marbles used for landscaping



Discussion Question

 

1. On our trip we had to request special permission to be able to take pictures and video at Paul Wissmach. Why do you think it would be such a big deal?  Read this article and use it to make a connection and for support in your thinking.