Talk:Borosilicate glass

Melting point
Hi Alex, sorry to correct your sentence again, but the heat resistance of borosilicate glass is definitely not generated from its "higher melting point". Actually glass doesn't have any such thing as a melting point. Also borosilicate glass doesn't even have a higher softening temperature than conventional soda-lime glass. The main advantage is the low thermal expansion coefficient. It makes borosilicate glass less sensitive to thermal gradients and thermal shock. Regards, Herbert

The mixture as a whole has to be heated to a higher temperature before it liquefies to the point that it can be shaped; Corning had to develop new forges that could produce and withstand 1000 C. I'm not mischaracterizing the nature of the glass, it was a major engineering challenge to mass-produce in the early days. --Alexwcovington (talk) 12:42, 19 Feb 2005 (UTC)


 * P.S. As a side note I would advise registering a username or logging in so your work and comments can be properly attributed.

I see there are two more reverts here now. Can the anon user please post here with sources stating reason for his/her reverts? Inter 12:56, 19 Feb 2005 (UTC)


 * I apologize for my overzealousness. I mistakenly believed at the time of the edits that it was the melting point that was the major difference; indeed the melting point of Pyrex is about 821 C, much lower than a typical glass, well over 1000 C .  By examining sources here  for a more typical glass (0.672 J / g * cm3), [0.161 *4.18]) and here for borosilicate  (0.753 J / g * cm3), I see a significant difference in heat capacity.  It is possible that Corning needed the new forges to allow for mixing at the desired consistency, and maybe to overcome the added heat resistance, though I'm less confident of that now.


 * Modifying article thusly. --Alexwcovington (talk) 06:50, 27 Feb 2005 (UTC)

The confustion comes from soda lime glass, which I am supposing is not normal window pane glass. Soda lime glass has a definitly lower melting point. Indolering

Looks like somebody knows, so howcum the melting temp (which I understood Pyrex was developed for) isn't mentioned? Trekphiler 00:47, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Merge of bomex, kimax and pyrex articles
Lacrima97: It doesn't matter if the bomex section is merged, but if it is, pyrex and kimax should also be merged. They are all different brands, and i know that i really needed the information I posted about bomex, so just do what you wish with it, as long as the facts are known. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 216.79.242.166 (talk • contribs) 01:12, 4 January 2006 UTC.

Makes sense to merge them (IMO) as long as we setup redirect pages from Pyrex, Kimax, and Bomex into Borosilicate glass. Marius 21:38, 21 January 2006 (UTC)
 * I concur; I'd like to see all three merged in, with the appropriate redirects. --moof 03:50, 6 March 2006 (UTC)

It is VERY TRUE, all these brands of glass are nearly the exact same glass, just brands. Why would be have a different article for each brand of ketchup? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 71.35.161.79 (talk • contribs) 16:42, 16 June 2006 UTC.

It is not advisible to enclude the two trade names as part of borosilicate, as borosilicates are a type of glass denoted due to the % of Boric oxide present used as a flux. The companies only wish to add their trade names as a marketing exercise. There are 1000's of compositions manuafctured that come under the unbrella of 'Borosilicates' should they all merge pages?? The only company who truely could have a claim to merge is 'PYREX' teh original trade name asscoiated with the formulation of a borosilicate type glass. Furthermore the main attribute of borosilicates is not only the thermal expansion, but moreso that these glass types are hydrolytically stable, offering excellent chemical resistance (except HF of course)as apposed to most other glass types. Simon Brigham

I'm against merging the Pyrex article with this one. It has become fairly developed, including information specific to the brand name, and deserves its own article. It might make sense to transfer some of the information from that article to this one, though. -- Heptite (T)   (C)   (@)  16:50, 22 October 2006 (UTC)

I support merging in Kimax and Bomex to here, but not Pyrex. Pyrex, like Kleenex, is a genericised trademark, and so by our guidelines deserves its own article. The others, on the other hand, are not notable enough to warrant their own articles. Besides, the Kimax and Bomex articles as written say nothing that is of note that isn't said in this article. &mdash; Saxifrage ✎ 20:48, 22 October 2006 (UTC)

Other uses
It should just say dildo instead of other uses - some people might click on it whilst having a parent watching and it could lead to quite an embarrising conversation.

From Todd A.  This article should discuss use of borosilicate glass in the nuclear industry. Boron is a good neutron absorber, which is helpful for preventing unwanted nuclear criticalities (chain reactions in which enough neutrons that are released when atoms fission in one generationstick around and create the same amount - or more (supercriticality) - fissions in the next generation). This is something that is useful in manufacture of nuclear fuel (e.g., highly enriched uranium) or in storing or disposing nuclear waste that has enough fissile material to sustain a nuclear reaction (okay, that's a bit simplified). Here are a couple of uses: 1) Raschig Rings (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raschig_ring):  facilities that manufacture nuclear fuel often put them in vacuum cleaners that are used to vacuum up spills; 2) stabilizing defense nuclear waste that contains plutonium-239 or other fissile material (e.g. U-235):  take a stainless steel cylinder, pour in powder waste & borosilicate glass powder through electrodes that heat it up (at the same time) and presto, very stable glass log encased in highly corrosion-resistant material. I recommend not using the latter as a dildo. Anyway, a good google search could find you all sorts of references. I leave it to the owner of the page138.162.8.58 (talk) 18:06, 18 December 2009 (UTC)Todd A.

Under radioactivity there is a "citation needed" for this glass being used to hold radioactive waste for centuries. This is clearly false since this glass tpye has not been around for centuries. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.70.170.48 (talk) 13:30, 26 April 2011 (UTC)

Moving general borosilicate info here from Pyrex
I'm not sure about merging, but certainly now that "Pyrex isn't pyrex" (heh) it would make sense to move the general borosilicate chemistry info from the Pyrex article in here. Chris Cunningham 11:16, 16 February 2007 (UTC)


 * Done. Chris Cunningham 10:51, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

Translation
I want someone to help telling me how can I say "Borosilicate glass" in spanish for the translation.

Maybe I can type "Vidrio borosilicato" or "Vidrio de borosílice", but I´m not sure about the correct form. Damërung 13:03, 12 May 2007 (UTC)

Durability
Can some knowledgeable soul please add a section explaining to what degree imperfections in borosilicate products (such as air bubbles, chips and cracks) affect their safety and usability for heating, vacuum and pressurization? Information on this is hard to find, and contradictory at best. Some people say an air bubble will cause a borosilicate piece to explode when heated or subjected to vacuum/pressure, others say it doesn't do anything. Same thing for chips. It'd be nice to have the correct answer available in WP for easy access. 97.82.247.200 23:31, 5 August 2007 (UTC)

Manufacturing process
Is the reference to silicate glass correct? shouldn't it be soda-lime glass? Axiosaurus 15:26, 24 September 2007 (UTC)

Usage: conflict with another article
3rd to last paragraph in "usage" section says "Borosilicate glass is not used for high quality lenses due to striations and inclusions common to this type of glass."

BUT article "Crown glass (optics)" says "the borosilicate glass Schott BK7 is an extremely common crown glass, used in precision lenses."

Will some expert kindly resolve this conflict???

Perhaps something like: "Most borsosilicate glasses are not used ... but some (e.g., Schott BK7) are made well enough for such use." —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.249.41.138 (talk) 03:13, 15 November 2007 (UTC)

Resolved: This now includes mention of BK-7 and similar types of borosilicate optical glass, and B270 and similar but less expensive types of borosilicate glass for eyeglasses. You can buy borosilicate in any grade required, from exceptionally fine melts of special BK-7 to very cheap industrial grades. -Rstevec —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.17.13.44 (talk) 05:07, 21 November 2007 (UTC)

Is the "Schott Duran" glassware borosilicate glassware?
Does anyone know? If it is not then it is not related to this article and should be removed. If it is then it should be captioned as "borosilicate glassware, here displayed two beakers and a test tube" not "Schott Duran glassware, here displayed two beakers and a test tube". Can anyone confirm if they are borosilicate or not? Sean.barton (talk) 00:20, 8 February 2008 (UTC)

Probably it must be borosilicate. I don't see why it would be added to the article if it were not. I'll change the caption, but if I am wrong someone please correct it. Sean.barton (talk) 20:09, 14 March 2008 (UTC)

Schott Duran is a brand of borosilicate glass. The old caption would have been fine, the changed one would be fine too. TooManyFingers (talk) 18:40, 13 July 2021 (UTC)

Pyrex use of soda lime since 1998 question
The article currently states that the US mfr of Pyrex has been using soda lime since 1998; however, the ref provided does not mention any date of when soda lime was introduced, and this recent Snopes.com article suggests that the switch actually occurred in the mid 1940s. Also, not sure if it's worth mentioning the "exploding" bit... OhNo itsJamie Talk 14:03, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

Error in section "Composition and physical characteristics"
" . . . at this temperature, the viscosity of type ?? Pyrex is ?? poise.[4] . . ." contains an error. The question marks may need to be removed or replaced with their intended character(s).Ntlhui (talk) 22:50, 4 October 2009 (UTC)

"Reagent Bottle" Entry Created - Please Add!
I just created the entry for Reagent bottle. If you have more useful and knowledgeable information, please do add it. Radical Mallard (talk) 16:54, 6 July 2010 (UTC)

Diagram please
How about a diagram of typical structure? I'd like to know how the boron and silicon interconnect (if they do). Also some indication of how this structure makes for lower thermal expansion. Thanks. JKeck (talk) 18:25, 30 October 2010 (UTC)

Inconsistent link to Swiss University
In the section "Borosilicate nanoparticles," the link indicates it is to the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology at Lausanne (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_Federal_Institute_of_Technology_in_Lausanne

However, the link actually goes to the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_Federal_Institute_of_Technology_Z%C3%BCrich

I don't know which university conducted the research described in the paragraph, but it appears that either the name in the text or the link needs to be changed. Pddentremont (talk) 16:50, 22 November 2011 (UTC) PcGnome (talk) 00:37, 24 September 2012 (UTC) PcGnome (talk) 00:38, 24 September 2012 (UTC) PcGnome (talk) 00:39, 24 September 2012 (UTC) PcGnome (talk) 00:42, 24 September 2012 (UTC)

traducción
190.51.144.78 (talk) 20:16, 23 September 2012 (UTC)

Dan Eister
I've just removed the following text from the article since it is not notable, does not contribute usefully to the article and is probably a personal advertisement (it had been added by an IP user). If it is felt to be notable enough by more than one editor maybe a page can be started for Dan Eister but I don't think it belongs on this page.

"Dan Eister is the first lampwork bead maker to put a full color line of borosilicate beads on the table at any bead trade show. He did this after discovering boro color created by Paul Trautman who started Northstar. It happened in 1999 at Embellishment in Portland Oregon. Dan Eister was also one of the featured artists in a book published by Schiffer in 2001 and authored by Mark P. Block called " Contemporary Marbles and Related Art Glass ". Dan is the first to use Dichroic made by " Coatings by Sandberg " in a borosilicate marble that he developed in honor of his stepfather John Bowen a Geologist. Dan's idea was to create a marble that was his version of a geode. "

Loganrah (talk) 00:32, 3 December 2012 (UTC)


 * Actually, it had been added by as you can tell from this diff:  -- 65.94.77.181 (talk) 21:54, 3 December 2012 (UTC)

It appears to have been added once again. This "Dan" is quite persistent. I have removed the apparent self-advertisement. 216.226.248.163 (talk) 07:18, 31 December 2012 (UTC)Mal

Borosilicate Glass Physical Properties
From reading the Wii article I get that there are different formulations of borosilicate glass. Is it still possible to list some of the physical properties though, maybe in range format, such as hardness, optical clarity, softening point, etc. ?173.180.7.3 (talk) 10:18, 16 October 2013 (UTC)BeeCier

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just added archive links to 1 one external link on Borosilicate glass. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20080922015443/http://www.arc-international-cookware.com:80/en/aboutus/pyrex-history.php to http://www.arc-international-cookware.com/en/aboutus/pyrex-history.php

When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the checked parameter below to true to let others know.

Cheers.—cyberbot II  Talk to my owner :Online 06:01, 10 January 2016 (UTC)

Guitar slide picture doesn't look like a guitar anything. Looks more like a beaker.
The image and image comment don't make sense. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 120.151.52.200 (talk) 23:14, 12 June 2018 (UTC)

Many objects of about the right size and shape *can* be used as guitar slides. I agree it doesn't necessarily look specifically made for a guitar, but I don't know. TooManyFingers (talk) 18:44, 13 July 2021 (UTC)

Note: I just did a little web search for borosilicate guitar slide, and the first hopeful-looking result took me to a well-known guitar accessories company where they sell ones just like in the picture. So I guess that settles it well enough. TooManyFingers (talk) 18:55, 13 July 2021 (UTC)

3d printing
The selection of borosilicate glass for FDM 3d printing is exaggerated. This may have true a couple years ago, but flexible build plates of spring metal with a proprietary coating have become the defacto standard. Glass build plates generally never came prepackaged with 3d printers and were only used by hobbiests to replace unsuitable build surfaces. These were also generally whatever was available and most likely not borosilicate glass because the thermal properties of soda lime glass is more than sufficient for the relatively low temperature of FDM printing. Also, borosilicate is generally not available in flat plates to the general consumer. To make matters worse, the description if the FDM process is in error. Build plate temperatures can vary widely, but rarely need to exceed 100x. In short this entire section is inaccurate and does not belong on this page. A simple statement saying that borosilicate glass may be used as a build plate coating with a link to 3d printing would be more appropriate. Nuke Sam (talk) 19:23, 4 August 2018 (UTC)

Correction, the did come prepackaged with 3d printers as the installed build plate for printers such as makerbot replicator 2+. Still this discussion doesn't really belong in this article. Nuke Sam (talk) 19:28, 4 August 2018 (UTC)

Fine Art
The article on borosilicate glass neglects that it has emerged as an important medium in fine art and sculpture. Its resistance to cracking (and exploding) has lent itself to lampwork art. Here is one article:   Also cross reference to the Wikipedia lampworking page: 2605:A000:1005:853A:3D6C:3B76:D0F2:E388 (talk) 14:23, 20 May 2019 (UTC)R.Otten

Optics, working temperature
In the Optics section, there's a very specific piece of information:

"The maximal working temperature is 268 °C (514 °F)"

But by that point in the paragraph, more than one type or grade of glass has been mentioned, and it isn't possible to tell which one of them this statement refers to. (Or is it the same for all of them? In any case, it needs specifying.) TooManyFingers (talk) 16:26, 13 December 2021 (UTC)