Equipment & Utensils 12

Makassar, 10 September 2018

• Glassware

Now you see it, now you don't. Glass is a bit of a riddle. It's hard enough to protect us, but it shatters with incredible ease. Modern life just would not be possible without glass. From the jar that holds the morning marmalade, to the light bulb we switch off last thing at night, glass is around us everywhere.

Glass is a transparent solid substance. It is non-crystalline amorphous in nature and is widely used in various fields like laboratories, as decorative and household products & for technological usage. 

Scientifically, every solid with non-crystalline structure which exhibits a glass transition when heated towards the liquid state is called Glass.

Glassware is drinking vessels (drinkware) and tableware used to set a table for eating a meal, general glass items such as vases, and glasses used in the catering industry. It does not include laboratory glassware.

What is glass?
Glass is a combination of sand and other minerals that are melted together at very high temperatures to form a material that is ideal for a wide range of uses from packaging and construction to fibre optics. A form of glass occurs naturally within the mouth of a volcano when the intense heat of an eruption melts sand to form Obsidian, a hard black glassy type of stone. Man first used this as tips for spears. Today man has mastered the glass-making process and can make many different types of glass in infinitely varied colours formed into a wide range of products. Glass, chemically, is actually more like a liquid, but at room temperature it is so viscous or sticky it looks and feels like a solid. At higher temperatures glass gradually becomes softer and more like a liquid. It is this latter property, which allows glass to be poured, blown, pressed and moulded into such a variety of shapes.

How is glass made?
Glass is made by melting together several minerals at very high temperatures. Silica in the form of sand is the main ingredient and this is combined with soda ash and limestone and melted in a furnace at temperatures of 1700°C. Other materials can be added to produce different colours or properties. Glass can also be coated, heat-treated, engraved or decorated. Whilst still molten, glass can be manipulated to form packaging, car windscreens, glazing or numerous other products. Depending on the end use, the composition of the glass and the rate at which it is allowed to cool will vary, as these two factors are crucial in obtaining the properties the glassmaker is seeking to achieve.

Properties of Glass:

Polycrystalline materials do not transmit visible light but glass do and that’s the reason it is used in various types of glass productions. Another important feature of glass is that it reflects or scatters light, i.e. the process of diffuse reflection.

Glass transmit, reflect and refract light. These qualities of glass can be enhanced by cutting and polishing. Glass is widely used in optical lenses, prisms, fine glassware. Silicate glasses, due to their property of optical transparency, are used as window panes.

Glassware used in Labs:

Glassware equipments used for scientific equipment purposes like in chemistry and biology laboratories is called Lab Glasswares. Borosilicate glass or soda lime glass are primarily used for such purposes.

Borosilicate glasses mainly constitutes silica and boron oxide which makes this compound dimensionally more stable. Sodium borosilicate glass or Pyrex is thus used for chemical glassware, cooking glass, car head lamps, etc.

Lead-oxide glass has high refractive index, which enhances the quality of look of a glassware. The reason why it has a high refractive index is because it has high density and thus high electron density. It also has a high elasticity which helps to make “rings” in the glassware.
Glassware used in Kitchen:

The glassware used in kitchen is generally made of borosil or pyrex glass. The reason these glasses are used in kitchen is that it does not crack on heating or cooling because of its low coefficient of expansion. These kind of glassware is generally very thin and hence, inner and outer surfaces expand equally.

Drinkware

Drinkware, beverageware (colloquially referred to as cups) is a general term for a vessel intended to contain beverages or liquid foods for drinking or consumption. 

Ex. for Drinkware : beaker, beer glassware, coffee cup, jar, mug, paper cup, pythagorean cup, quaich, sake cup, stemware, teacup, trembleuse, tumblers.

Tumblers

Tumblers are flat-bottomed drinking glasses.

Ex. for Tumblers :

• Collins glass, for a tall mixed drink
• Dizzy Cocktail glass, a glass with a wide, shallow bowl, comparable to a normal Cocktail glass but without the stem
• Highball glass, for mixed drinks
• Iced tea glass
• Juice glass, for fruit juices and vegetable juices.
• Old Fashioned glass, traditionally, for a simple cocktail or liquor "on the rocks". Contemporary American "rocks" glasses may be much larger, and used for a variety of beverages over ice
• Shot glass, a small glass for up to four ounces of liquor. The modern shot glass has a thicker base and sides than the older whiskey glass
• Table-glass or stakan granyonyi
• Water glass
• Whiskey tumbler, a small, thin-walled glass for a straight shot of liquor

Beer Glassware

Beer glassware comprises the drinking vessels made of glass designed or commonly used for drinking beer.

Ex. for Beer Glassware

• Beer stein – large mug traditionally with a hinged lid
• Pilsner glass, for pale lager
• Pint glass, for an Imperial pint of beer or cider
• Pony glass, for a 140ml of beer, a "short" or "small" beer
• Tankard, a large drinking cup, usually with a handle and a hinged cover
• Wheat beer glass, for wheat beer (Weizenbier)
• Yard glass, a very tall, conical beer glass, with a round ball base, usually hung on a wall when empty
• Handle – 425ml New Zealand beer glass
• Jug – 750–1000ml served at pubs in New Zealand
• Middy – 285ml (10 fl. oz.) Australian beer glass (New South Wales)
• Glass – 200ml (7 fl. oz.) Australian beer glass (Queensland and Victoria)
• Pot – 285ml (10 fl. oz.) Australian beer glass (Queensland and Victoria)
• Schooner – 425ml (15 fl. oz.) Australian beer glass, 285 ml (10 fl. oz.) in South Australia

Stemware

Stemware is drinkware that stands on stems above a base. It is usually made from glass, but may be made from ceramics or metals. The stem allows the drinker to hold the glass without affecting the temperature of the drink.

Stemware includes:

• Absinthe glass
• Chalice (goblet), an ornate stem glass, especially one for ceremonial purposes
• Champagne coupe, a stem glass with a wide, shallow bowl, for champagne (similar to a cocktail glass)
• Champagne flutes, a stem glass with a tall, narrow bowl, for champagne
• Cocktail glasses,  a stem glass with a wide, shallow bowl, for cocktails
• Fountain glass, a tall fluted stem glass common in soda fountains, family restaurants and 24-hour diner-style restaurants for milkshakes and ice cream sodas
• Glencairn whisky glass, a wide bowl with a narrow mouth, similar to a snifter's, but with a shorter, sturdier base, designed for whisky
• Hurricane glass (Poco Grande glass)
• Margarita glass (variant of Champagne coupe)
• Sherbet, a stem glass for ice cream or sorbet
• Sherry glass
• Snifters, a liquor glass with a short stem and a wide bowl that narrows at the top, for brandy and liquor
• Wine glasses, a stem glass

 Other

• Art glass, glassware that is modern art
• Glass container, container made from glass
• Laboratory glassware, a variety of equipment, traditionally made of glass, used for scientific experiments
• Pitcher, a container, usually with a spout for pouring its contents
• Punch bowl, a bowl that punch is put in, generally used in parties
• Vase, an open container often used to hold flowers
• Bong, a smoking device often made from glass
• Peking glass, a Chinese form of Overlay glass, often in the form of snuff boxes or vases.

Recycling Glass

Glass is 100% recyclable and can be recycled an infinite number of times without quality, strength and/or functionality degradation.

Sources :

https://byjus.com/physics/glassware/

https://www.britglass.org.uk/about-glass

http://www.explainthatstuff.com/glass.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_glassware