Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1885-12-09
THE AGE OF GLASS.
AN Important Discovery Which Es.
Revolut5cnizc Architecture.

An important discovery has recently
been made in the manufacture of glasr
which bids fair to revolutioniZs that art
as compile ely as the character OF the
iron trade has been changed in its
methods by the introduction of pro.
cesses for making steel cheaply on
large scale. 1t Is N effect that any
desired degree of hardness, within o
rather wide range, may be communiea-
ted to glass, and that Dy very simple
msans. is is nothing more than Ito
equable distribution OF heat through tie
mass and then an equable cooling. Tine
discovery is credited to Frederic Sic
mems.
The difficulty of heating and cooling
glass ut an equal rate throughout IS the
great stumbling-block that has stood in
the way of success. Without this TIC
material was liable to crack or explode,
a familiar illustration of which Is fur
ished III the breaking Of O tumbIer when
hot water is poured into it, the danger
of fracture increasing with the thick
ness'of the glass. The application OF
radiant heat oTercores the first half CT
the difficulty, and the second is obviatId
by surrounding the edges with a mate
llal that prevents the heat from leaving
them more rapidly than that from other
portions. By placing the glass between
plates Oi suitsbly-prepared metal the
softened substance can be embossed
with any wished-for design, and after
leaving the mold il is four or five times
es hard as ordinary glass, being in fact
so firm" in its substance that the dia-
mond fails even TO scratch 1t. Hence
it must be made to exactly the size and
shape wanted, but after having been so
made i. Is at least three times as strong
as ordinary glass of the same thickness,
and appears to be even less liable to
give way on account OF flaws than is
cast-steel. Castings have already been
made of floor plates. grind. stones. pull
ieys, railroad-slekpers, ETC.. and 1t Is
believed that its use can be indefinitely
extended to many OF the uses of wood
and metal in the arts, and especially IN
the building trades.
Nothing Is said of the cost of the rev
glass, which is q most important point
in determining the extent TO which 1t
will be employed for the purposes above
noted. But at the first blush it would
appear to be capable OF being produced
much more cheapiv than its equivalent
in iron or steel. II consists of about
fifteen per cent. OF potash, seventy-ive
per cent. of silex (sand), smaller quan-
Titles OF lime and aIumina, and traces Of
other material. All Of the articles
named except the first are literally ''as
cheap as dirt, and potash is not very
costly; while the quantity of fuel re-
qujred IS probably less than that needed
to reduce the ores Of iron to the metal
lie form. Hence it Is not impossible
that many OF those now living will see
the time when people will reside IN
glass-houses, and not be more afraid of
throwing stones than if they tenanted
structures made OF ordinary bricks and
mortar. It needs no great stretch OF
the imagination TO look forward in fancy
to new era directly resulting from this
discovery. Man has successfully passe
through the stone age, the bronze
period, the iron age, the golden age,
more recently the age OF steel ha'
davred upon US and it has been pro
posed to name this the age of paper.
Next in order may come the age o;
glass and thenf