Among the most common reasons for glass to bend are temperature, wind, and impurities. When these impurities are present, they cause stress to concentrate in one place. As a result, the weakest point will eventually break. And if these impurities are not eliminated, the glass will break. Luckily, there are simple ways to prevent it. Keep reading to find out how. Hopefully, this article will help you to understand glass bending.
Light rays:
When light rays hit a solid object, they refract in the same way that they do when they strike another object. When light enters a glass block from a different angle, it slows down the leading edge first before it passes through the material. This is the reason why light rays that are perpendicular to the surface of the glass block will not bend. A light that is perpendicular to the surface of a solid object will be unaffected by the bend in the glass block.
Temperature:
The main cause of glass’s ability to bend is its temperature. Glass is most pliable at room temperature, but as it gets hotter, it will become more flexible and can be bent into a variety of shapes. To bend glass, you need to use a heatproof structure with the desired angle. A base of a ring stand can be used to make a 90o bend, but for other angles, you may need to clamp and bend a sheet of sturdy metal. If you are not concerned with precise angles, you can bend the glass by hand as it gets hotter.
Wind:
You may have noticed that glass stretches in strong winds, but you may not have realized just how much. The wind is a common force for large window panes, and long thin sheets sag before breaking. Wind causes the glass to bend because its fibers are very long, compared to its thickness, and can be bent gently into a circle. It also possesses a characteristic bending radius, which makes it safe to bend.
Refraction:
One way to understand how light bends is to observe soldiers marching in mud. As they move in the mud, their path bends towards a parallel line and then reverses direction to go in the opposite direction. This effect of refraction is similar to how light bends in a transparent object. The difference is that a transparent object bends light in different directions, and each of those bends is influenced by the angle of refraction.