Glass

Glass is a smooth, see-through material found all around us. Windows, drinking cups, and eyeglasses are all made of glass. It is made by heating sand until it melts and then shaping it. Glass is strong but it can break if you drop it.

How Glass Is Made

Workers heat sand in a very hot oven called a furnace. They also add other things like soda ash and limestone. When the mix melts, it becomes a glowing liquid. The liquid is shaped while hot and then cooled into the final shape.

A Useful Material

People have made glass for thousands of years. Long ago, only rich people could have glass windows. Today, glass is everywhere, from cars to phone screens. It can even be pulled into very thin strands called fiber optics, which send information as light.

Fun Facts

• Glass can be recycled endlessly without losing quality.
• Some ancient Roman glass bowls are still in museums today.
• Fiber optic cables made of glass carry the internet around the world.

Did You Know?

When lightning strikes sand on a beach, it can make natural glass tubes called fulgurites.