The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1875-06-18
Toughened Glass.


The Paris correspondent Of the London
Times writes under date MAY D: ~ GA
gave anaccount a few weeks ago ofthe dis
eovery by M. Francois DE la Bastie, a
French engineer, of process by which
glass while retaining its transparency
practically ceases To be- brittle. esterday
evening NJ. Victor de Luynes, who, with
NJ. de Bastie's sanction, has for some
weeks been making experiments at a glass
mandatory, delivered n lecture on the
subject az the annual meeting OF the Soci-
etc lie Secours dies Amis DIES Sciences. M.
Dumas. the distinguished chemist and per-
manent Secretary OF the Academic DIES
Sciences. presided. and the large amphi-
theatre OF the Faculty of Arts AT the Sor-
bonnie was crowded. most of the members
on scieRtific bodies and chief glass man .
facturers being among the audience. NJ.
de Bastie himself was also pr sent. Nj.
de Luynes explained the expansion and
compression of the exterior and interior
parts caused by immersing glass heated
10 certain temperature in an oleaginous
bath. and he gave some highly interesting
proofs of the success OF the process. Thus
he applied some vigorous blows with a
hammer TO piece of glass which In its
ordinary condition must have been broken
\ into fragments. but which sustained this
violence without being any the worse for
4 il. \ small tube of thin twisted glass be-
7 ing fastened in vice, he endeavored TO
break of the extremity Of il with pair Of
pincers, but IL was only after several at
I tempts and by dint Of much evident mus
cular exertion that he succeeded in dong
so. A furnace. moreover. was brought
I into the hall. and a number of small globes
and pieces of sheet glass were submitted
10 the toughening process. Nj. de Luynes
then threw some of them on the floor to
show that they could bear the shock. The
globes were fastened by strings To slaves
OF wood at various heights, and an
assistant mounting ladder and set
fell on the table with considerable
force. thence rebounding on the floor. but
only one or two OF them were fractured,
and those only when falling four or five
wards. The assistant also mounted on a
curved plate OF glass placed on the table
so as 10 represent an arc Of a circle. but
though the portion on the glass on which
he stood was an inch or two above the Ia
BILE il bore the weight of his body. A
similar experiment with much thinner
glass was not so successful. but vi. de
Luynes stated that 1t had previously borne
the strain. though ii had been necessary
for the assistant TO mount upon 1t some
what carefully so as 10 equalize the pres
sure a. much a. possible. OF course. vi i.
de la Bastie, as VI. de Luynes explained,
does not pretend that glass thus tenn
pered l. absolutely free from danger OF
breakage. but he declares that il will bear
- or 100 times the strain OF ordinary glass,
and last nights experiments afforded con-
elusive evidence of the value Of the dis
covery. The glass, moreover. IL Is stated.
can be eur under certain conditions "a
easily a. common glass. By means OF
the electric light VI. de Luynes gave some
interesting experiments Of the optical
properties Of glass, the distribution of the
colors. which were very brilliant, depend
ing on the shape given TO the object. The
audience showed the utmost interest in
the experiments, the former eyoking fire.
quent applause. The greater durability
Of glass articles will obviously b. disad-
vantage To the trade. but against this
must be set the use of glass for many pur-
poses from which its brittleness has hith-
erto excluded il. Not only will IL be APP
piled to many domestic purposes. but in
some branches of manufacture IL is likely
materially 10 cheaper production. In
chemical works. for example, metallic
chambers. which are expensive without
being durable, will certainly be substitute
ej by glass. VI. de la Bastie ia taking
measures for the practical working OF his
discovery. and his English agents, Messrs,
Abel Rey Brothers, Of 20 Mincing Lane,
exhibit number of articles to which II
has been already applied"