How Glass Changed the World: The History and Chemistry of Glass from Antiquity to the 13th Century

88 Pages·2012·2.59 MB·English

by  Seth C. Rasmussen (auth.)

SpringerBriefs in Molecular Science
History of Chemistry
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Seth C. Rasmussen
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Seth C. Rasmussen
How Glass Changed
the World
The History and Chemistry of Glass
from Antiquity to the 13th Century
123
SethC. Rasmussen
Department of Chemistryand Biochemistry
North DakotaState University
Fargo,ND
USA
ISSN 2191-5407 e-ISSN 2191-5415
ISBN 978-3-642-28182-2 e-ISBN978-3-642-28183-9
DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-28183-9
SpringerHeidelbergNewYorkDordrechtLondon
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2012931419
(cid:2)TheAuthor(s)2012
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Acknowledgments
I would first and foremost like to thank the National Science Foundation
(CHE-0132886) for initial support of this research and the Department of
Chemistry and Biochemistry at North Dakota State University for supporting my
continuing efforts in the history of chemistry.
The historical work included in the current volume began as an interest in the
early introduction anddevelopmentofchemical glassware,which ledtoaninitial
presentation given at the 227th National Meeting of the American Chemical
Society (ACS) in 2004 as part of programming for the Division of the History of
Chemistry (HIST). An invitation from E. Thomas Strom then led to an updated
presentation aspartofthePerspectivesintheHistoryofChemistrysymposium at
the 60th Southwest Regional ACS Meeting later that same year. Continued
research finally led to enough information to frame an initial manuscript, which
was published in the Bulletin for the History of Chemistry in 2008. Throughout
this time period, I was warmly welcomed by the members of HIST and strongly
encouraged to follow my historical pursuits. As such, I need to acknowledge
HIST in providing the environment and encouragement which allowed the
development of my initial historical interests into active research and contribu-
tions in the history of science. In particular, I wish to acknowledge HIST
members David E. Lewis, Carmen J. Giunta, and E. Thomas Strom, as well as
Paul R. Jones who was the Bulletin Editor during the submission and publication
of my first historical paper.
Of course, the history behind the development of glass and its applications to
chemicalapparatuscontinuedtoholdmyinterestandresearchcontinued,ultimately
resultinginthiscurrentvolume.Aspartofthepreparationofthisvolume,Iwould
alsoliketothankmybrother,KentA.Rasmussen,forhismosthelpfuldiscussions
onlinguistics,philology,andtheintertwiningoflanguageandculture.Inaddition,I
wouldliketoacknowledgetheInterlibraryLoanDepartmentofNorthDakotaState
University,who went outoftheir way totrack down many elusiveand somewhat
obscure sources. Lastly, I would like to thank the following current and former
v
vi Acknowledgments
members of my research group for reading various drafts of this manuscript and
providing critical feedback: Dr. Christopher L. Heth, Michael E. Mulholland,
KristineL.Konkol,BrendanJ.Gifford,andCaseyB.McCausaland.
Finally,andperhapsmostimportantly,ImustgiveheartfeltthankstoElizabeth
Hawkins at Springer, without whom this new series of historical volumes would
not have become a reality.
Abstract
Glassproductionisthoughttodateto*2500BCEandglasshadfoundnumerous
uses by the height of the Roman Empire. The modern application of glass to
chemicalapparatus(beakers,flasks,stills,etc.)wasquitelimited,however,dueto
a lack of glass durability under both rapid temperature changes and chemical
attack. In the mid-1200s, this began to change as the glassmakers of Venice and
Murano began blending previous Roman methods with raw materials from the
Levant, as well as developing pretreatment and purification methods of the raw
materials used. The combination of these practices resulted in a new glass with a
strengthandhighmeltingpointsuitableforuseinchemicalapparatus.Theability
toproducevesselsfromglassallowedmuchgreaterfreedomandversatilityinthe
design of laboratory glassware. The resulting improved glass technology led to
the invention of eyeglasses, significantly extending the intellectual lifespan of the
averagescholar.Inaddition,thefreedomofdesignprovidedbyglassresultedina
vast improvement in still design, which in turn allowed the isolation of important
species such as alcohol and the mineral acids. This text provides an overview of
the history and chemistry of glass technology from its origins in antiquity to its
dramatic expansion in the thirteenth century, then concluding with its impact on
society in general, particularly its effect on chemical practices.
Keywords Glass (cid:2) Pyrotechnology (cid:2) Materials science (cid:2) Laboratory equipment/
apparatus (cid:2) Eyeglasses/lenses
vii
Contents
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2 Origins of Glass: Myth and Known History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.1 Myth and Legend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.2 Current Historical Knowledge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
3 Development and Growth of Glass Through the Roman Period. . . 21
3.1 Silica Sources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
3.2 Alkali Sources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
3.3 Core-Molding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
3.4 Cast Glass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
3.5 Decline and Renewal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
3.6 Roman Glass. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
3.7 Slumped Objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
3.8 Glassblowing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
3.9 Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
4 Reinventing an Old Material: Venice and the New Glass. . . . . . . . 37
4.1 Glass in the West . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
4.2 Glass in the East. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
4.3 Venice and Murano. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
4.4 Materials and Methods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
5 Applications to Chemical Apparatus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
5.1 Chemical Durability. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
ix
x Contents
5.2 Thermal Durability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
5.3 Increased Durability of Venetian Glass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
5.4 Chemical Glassware. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
5.5 Stills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
6 Impact on Society and Its Effect on Chemical Progress. . . . . . . . . 69
6.1 Glass Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
6.2 Eyeglasses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
6.3 Microscope and Telescope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
6.4 Thermometer and Barometer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
6.5 Alcohol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
6.6 Mineral Acids. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
6.7 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Chapter 1
Introduction
Glass1 and its uses predate recorded history. Long before the ability to manu-
factureglass,earlytribesdiscoveredandshapedglassformedbynature.Suchdark
volcanic glass, or obsidian, is a naturally occurring silica-based material which is
formed from the rapid cooling of volcanic lava (Fig. 1.1). Obsidian can be found
in most locations that have experienced the melting of silica-rich rock due to
volcanic eruptions and such deposits were valued by prehistoric tribes due to the
fact that it could be fractured to produce sharp blades or arrowheads [1].
Thetechnologyofsyntheticglassproduction,however,isthoughttodateback
to no later than 3000 BCE [2–5]. This glass technology was not discovered fully
formed, but grew slowly through continued development of both chemical com-
positionandtechniquesforitsproduction,manipulation,andmaterialapplications.
This developmenthadbecome fairlyadvanced by theRoman period, andthe first
tofourthcenturyCEisoftendescribedastheFirstGoldenAgeofGlass[1,6].The
manufactureanduseofglassbecamemorewidespreadduringtheRomanEmpire
than it had been at any other previous time in history, and glass manufacture
flourishedineverycountryunderRomanrule(Egypt,Syria,Greece,Italy,andthe
westernprovincesofGaulandBrittany)[1,7].Duringthistime,glasswaswidely
used for blown vessels, pitchers, bottles, jars, cups, goblets, bowls, plates, and
1 The modern word ‘glass’ used throughout this volume derives from the Old English ‘glæs’
withitsrespectiveoriginintheoldWestGermanicword‘glasam’,whichinturn,isbelievedto
derivefromtheproto-Indo-European(ca3500BCE)root‘*ghel’,meaning‘‘toshineorglitter’’.
Theearliestknownwordsforglass,however,originateinMesopotamiawiththeAkkadianword
‘mekku’andHurrianword‘ehlipakku’[10–12].BothwordswerealsousedlaterinEgyptwhen
glass was introduced there [10, 11]. In Latin, the word for glass is ‘vitrum’, from which the
modernword’vitreous’ originates.While absentfrom known literaturebefore 70BCE, itsuse
wascommonafterthispoint[13].ThusintheRomanperiod,referencestoglassused‘vitrium’
anditscombiningform‘vitri’,asexemplifiedbythefirstcenturyhistorianPlinytheElderinhis
NaturalisHistoria[14].
S.C.Rasmussen,HowGlassChangedtheWorld, 1
SpringerBriefsinHistoryofChemistry,DOI:10.1007/978-3-642-28183-9_1,
(cid:2)TheAuthor(s)2012
2 1 Introduction
Fig.1.1 Snowflakeobsidian
other tableware, with such glass objects becoming as widespread as pottery [1–4,
7, 8]. By the third century, evidence of window glass began to emerge in the
writings of Roman authors and in the fourth century, glass use had developed to
the point that certain kinds of glass were actually considered a household neces-
sity, although many still remained luxury items [1].
Glass was unlike any other material of this time period and its closest modern
materialanaloguesaretheorganicplasticsutilizedextensivelytoday.Moltenglass
canbepouredintoalmostanyshapeandretainsthatshapeuponcooling,makingit
an extremely versatile material. While liquid at high temperature, glass is char-
acterized as a supercooled liquid or amorphous solid at room temperature [7, 9].
Thatis,glassisasolid,butduetoitsdisorderednature,haspropertiessimilartoa
liquid that is too viscous to flow at room temperature. Most glass is comprised
predominatelyofsilica[6],withanempiricalformulaofSiO .Themostcommon
2
form of natural silica is quartz. However, quartz is a crystalline solid and has a
regular repeating crystalline lattice, while glass has no regular repetition in its
macromolecular structure and therefore has a disordered structure much like a
substance in the liquid state [7]. Silicate solids, both crystalline and glass, are
extended three-dimensional networks built up of SiO tetrahedra (Fig. 1.2a) in
4
whichtheoxygensofadjoiningtetrahedrasharecornerswitheachotherinsucha
manner that an oxygen atom is linked between two silicon atoms (Fig. 1.2b). For
clarity, simplified two-dimensional examples of crystalline and disordered forms
of SiO networks are illustrated in Fig. 1.2.
4