Editing Glass (section)

== History ==
{{Main|History of glass}}
[[File:Roman diatretglas.jpg|thumb|upright|Roman [[cage cup]] from the 4th century|alt=Refer to caption]]
Naturally occurring [[obsidian]] glass was used by [[Stone Age]] societies as it fractures along very sharp edges, making it ideal for cutting tools and weapons.<ref name="Harvey09">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7ig5XnOx4RMC&pg=PA83|pages=83–90|title=Fundamental Building Materials|last=Ward-Harvey|first=K.|date=2009|publisher=Universal-Publishers|isbn=978-1-59942-954-0}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/04/150413-Paleolithic-obsidian-weapons-arteni-armenia-archaeology/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191003025824/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/04/150413-Paleolithic-obsidian-weapons-arteni-armenia-archaeology/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=3 October 2019 |title=Digs Reveal Stone-Age Weapons Industry With Staggering Output |date=13 April 2015 |website=National Geographic News}}</ref>

Glassmaking dates back at least 6000 years, long before humans had discovered how to [[Smelting|smelt]] iron.<ref name="Harvey09" /> Archaeological evidence suggests that the first true synthetic glass was made in [[Lebanon]] and the coastal north [[Syria]], [[Mesopotamia]] or [[ancient Egypt]].<ref name="Henderson_ancient_glass">{{cite book |author=Julian Henderson |title=Ancient Glass |year=2013 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |doi=10.1017/CBO9781139021883.006 |pages=127–157}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.glassonline.com/infoserv/history.html |title=Glass Online: The History of Glass |access-date=29 October 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111024000436/http://www.glassonline.com/infoserv/history.html |archive-date=24 October 2011 }}</ref> The earliest known glass objects, of the mid-third millennium BC, were [[Glass beadmaking|beads]], perhaps initially created as accidental by-products of [[metalworking]] ([[slag]]s) or during the production of [[Egyptian faience|faience]], a pre-glass [[Vitreous enamel|vitreous]] material made by a process similar to [[Ceramic glaze|glazing]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cmog.org/article/life-string-35-centuries-glass-bead |title=All About Glass &#124; Corning Museum of Glass |website=www.cmog.org}}</ref>

Early glass was rarely transparent and often contained impurities and imperfections,<ref name="Harvey09" /> and is technically faience rather than true glass, which did not appear until the 15th century BC.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Karklins|first=Karlis|title=Simon Kwan – Early Chinese Faience and Glass Beads and Pendants|url=https://www.academia.edu/38201095|journal=BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers|date=January 2013|language=en}}</ref> However, red-orange glass beads excavated from the [[Indus Valley civilisation|Indus Valley Civilization]] dated before 1700 BC (possibly as early as 1900 BC) predate sustained glass production, which appeared around 1600 BC in Mesopotamia and 1500 BC in Egypt.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kenoyer|first=J.M|url=https://www.harappa.com/sites/default/files/pdf/BeadTechnologiesSummary.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190708064827/https://www.harappa.com/sites/default/files/pdf/BeadTechnologiesSummary.pdf |archive-date=2019-07-08 |url-status=live|title=South Asian Archaeology|year=2001|location=Paris|pages=157–170|chapter=Bead Technologies at Harappa, 3300–1900 BC: A Comparative Summary}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=McIntosh|first=Jane|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1AJO2A-CbccC&q=indus+valley+civilization|title=The Ancient Indus Valley: New Perspectives|date=2008|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-57607-907-2|pages=99|language=en}}</ref>

During the [[Late Bronze Age]], there was a rapid growth in [[glassmaking]] technology in [[Egypt]] and [[Western Asia]].<ref name="Henderson_ancient_glass" /> Archaeological finds from this period include coloured glass [[ingots]], vessels, and beads.<ref name="Henderson_ancient_glass" /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://dailyhistory.org/How_did_Manufactured_Glass_Develop_in_the_Bronze_Age? |title=How did Manufactured Glass Develop in the Bronze Age? - DailyHistory.org |website=dailyhistory.org}}</ref>

Much early glass production relied on grinding techniques borrowed from [[Stonemasonry|stoneworking]], such as grinding and carving glass in a cold state.<ref>Wilde, H. "Technologische Innovationen im 2. Jahrtausend v. Chr. Zur Verwendung und Verbreitung neuer Werkstoffe im ostmediterranen Raum". GOF IV, Bd 44, Wiesbaden 2003, 25–26.</ref>

The term ''glass'' has its origins in the late [[Roman Empire]], in the [[Roman glass]] making centre at [[Trier]] (located in current-day Germany) where the [[late-Latin]] term ''glesum'' originated, likely from a [[Germanic languages|Germanic]] word for a [[transparent materials|transparent]], [[lustrous]] substance.<ref name="douglas">{{cite book |last=Douglas |first=R.W. |title=A history of glassmaking |publisher=G T Foulis & Co Ltd |place=Henley-on-Thames |year=1972 |isbn=978-0-85429-117-5 |pages=5}}</ref> Glass objects have been recovered across the Roman Empire<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bBBkBJN_lJMC&pg=PA45|title=Roman Glass in the Corning Museum of Glass, Volume 3 |last=Whitehouse |first=David |year=2003 |publisher=Hudson Hills |isbn=978-0-87290-155-1 |page=45}}</ref> in domestic, [[funerary]],<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UO5MAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA365|title=The Art Journal |date=1888 |publisher=Virtue and Company |page=365}}</ref> and industrial contexts,<ref>{{Cite journal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ouIkAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA259|title=The Manufacture of Glass Milk Bottles |last=Brown |first=A.L. |journal=The Glass Industry |volume=2 |issue=11 |date=November 1921 |publisher=Ashlee Publishing Company |page=259}}</ref> as well as trade items in marketplaces in distant provinces.<ref>Aton, Francesca, ''[https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/roman-glass-bowl-nijmegen-1234616630/ Perfectly Preserved 2,000-Year-Old Roman Glass Bowl Unearthed in the Netherlands]'', Art News, January 25, 2022</ref><ref>McGreevy, Nora, ''[https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/2000-year-old-ancient-roman-glass-bowl-found-in-netherlands-180979461/ 2,000-Year-Old Roman Bowl Discovered Intact in the Netherlands]'', National Geographic, January 28, 2022</ref> Examples of [[Roman glass]] have been found outside of the former [[Roman Empire]] in [[China]],<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0zp6iMZoqt0C&pg=PA290|title=Six Dynasties Civilization |last=Dien |first=Albert E. |year=2007 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-07404-8 |page=290}}</ref> the [[Baltic region|Baltics]], the [[Middle East]], and [[India]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xeJMAgAAQBAJ&pg=RA2-PA29|title=The Oxford Companion to Archaeology |last1=Silberman |first1=Neil Asher |last2=Bauer |first2=Alexander A. |year=2012 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-973578-5 |page=29}}</ref> The Romans perfected [[cameo glass]], produced by [[Etching (microfabrication)|etching]] and carving through fused layers of different colours to produce a design in relief on the glass object.<ref name="britannica-glass">{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/technology/glass|title=glass &#124; Definition, Composition, & Facts|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|date=2 October 2023 }}</ref>

[[File:Vitrail-Passion.jpg|thumb|Windows in the choir of the [[Basilica of Saint-Denis]], one of the earliest uses of extensive areas of glass (early 13th-century architecture with restored glass of the 19th century)|alt=Elaborate stained glass windows in the choir of the Basilica of Saint Denis]]

In [[post-classical]] West Africa, [[Kingdom of Benin|Benin]] was a manufacturer of glass and glass beads.<ref>Oliver, Roland, and Fagan, Brian M. ''Africa in the Iron Age, c500 B.C. to A.D. 1400''. New York: Cambridge University Press, p. 187. {{ISBN|0-521-20598-0}}.</ref>
Glass was used extensively in Europe during the [[Middle Ages]]. [[Anglo-Saxon glass]] has been found across England during archaeological excavations of both settlement and cemetery sites.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=idAVBAAAQBAJ&pg=PP1 |title=Neighbours and Successors of Rome: Traditions of Glass Production and use in Europe and the Middle East in the Later 1st Millennium AD |last1=Keller |first1=Daniel |last2=Price |first2=Jennifer |last3=Jackson |first3=Caroline |year=2014 |publisher=Oxbow Books |isbn=978-1-78297-398-0 |pages=1–41}}</ref> From the 10th century onwards, glass was employed in [[stained glass windows]] of churches and [[cathedral]]s, with famous examples at [[Chartres Cathedral]] and the [[Basilica of Saint-Denis]]. By the 14th century, architects were designing buildings with walls of [[stained glass]] such as [[Sainte-Chapelle]], Paris, (1203–1248) and the East end of [[Gloucester Cathedral]]. With the change in architectural style during the [[Renaissance architecture|Renaissance]] period in Europe, the use of large stained glass windows became much less prevalent,<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/discoveringstain0000tuta |url-access=registration |title=Discovering Stained Glass in Detroit |last1=Tutag |first1=Nola Huse |last2=Hamilton |first2=Lucy |date=1987 |publisher=Wayne State University Press |isbn=978-0-8143-1875-1 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/discoveringstain0000tuta/page/11 11]}}</ref> although stained glass had a major revival with [[Gothic Revival architecture]] in the 19th century.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofam00hunt |url-access=registration |title=Encyclopedia of American architecture |last1=Packard |first1=Robert T. |last2=Korab |first2=Balthazar |last3=Hunt |first3=William Dudley |date=1980 |publisher=McGraw-Hill |isbn=978-0-07-048010-0 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofam00hunt/page/268 268]}}</ref>

During the 13th century, the island of [[Murano]], [[Venice]], became a centre for glass making, building on medieval techniques to produce colourful ornamental pieces in large quantities.<ref name=britannica-glass /> [[Venetian glass|Murano glass]] makers developed the exceptionally clear colourless glass [[cristallo]], so called for its resemblance to natural crystal, which was extensively used for windows, mirrors, ships' lanterns, and lenses.<ref name="Harvey09" /> In the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries, enamelling and [[gilding]] on glass vessels were perfected in Egypt and Syria.<ref name="EB1911-incorp" /> Towards the end of the 17th century, [[Bohemia]] became an important region for glass production, remaining so until the start of the 20th century. By the 17th century, glass in the Venetian tradition was also being produced in [[England]]. In about 1675, [[George Ravenscroft]] invented [[lead crystal]] glass, with [[cut glass]] becoming fashionable in the 18th century.<ref name=britannica-glass /> Ornamental glass objects became an important art medium during the [[Art Nouveau]] period in the late 19th century.<ref name="britannica-glass" />

Throughout the 20th century, new [[mass production]] techniques led to the widespread availability of glass in much larger amounts, making it practical as a building material and enabling new applications of glass.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jm9hGqECbXcC&pg=PA705 |title=Global Roadmap for Ceramic and Glass Technology |last=Freiman |first=Stephen |year=2007 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-0-470-10491-0 |pages=705}}</ref> In the 1920s a [[Glass casting|mould]]-etch process was developed, in which art was etched directly into the mould so that each cast piece emerged from the mould with the image already on the surface of the glass. This reduced manufacturing costs and, combined with a wider use of coloured glass, led to cheap glassware in the 1930s, which later became known as [[Depression glass]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Depression Glass |url=http://www.glassonweb.com/articles/article/201/ |access-date=2007-10-19 |archive-date=2 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141202110304/http://www.glassonweb.com/articles/article/201/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> In the 1950s, [[Pilkington|Pilkington Bros.]], [[England]], developed the [[float glass]] process, producing high-quality distortion-free flat sheets of glass by floating on molten [[tin]].<ref name="Harvey09" /> Modern multi-story buildings are frequently constructed with [[curtain wall (architecture)|curtain walls]] made almost entirely of glass.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b_PmZAzJecYC&pg=PT187 |title=Sustainable Renovation: Strategies for Commercial Building Systems and Envelope |last1=Gelfand |first1=Lisa |last2=Duncan |first2=Chris |year=2011 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |pages=187 |isbn=978-1-118-10217-6}}</ref> [[Laminated glass]] has been widely applied to vehicles for windscreens.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g-YCKEPYMpYC&pg=PA274 |title=Photodermatology |last1=Lim |first1=Henry W. |last2=Honigsmann |first2=Herbert |last3=Hawk |first3=John L.M. |year=2007 |publisher=CRC Press |pages=274 |isbn=978-1-4200-1996-4}}</ref> Optical glass for spectacles has been used since the Middle Ages.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Properties of Optical Glass|first1=Hans|last1=Bach|first2=Norbert|last2=Neuroth|publisher=Springer|year=2012|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y3nnCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA267|isbn=978-3-642-57769-7|pages=267}}</ref> The production of lenses has become increasingly proficient, aiding [[astronomer]]s<ref>{{cite book |first1=Ian S. |last1=McLean |title=Electronic Imaging in Astronomy: Detectors and Instrumentation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FGHhZf-k8SkC&pg=PA78 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |year=2008 |pages=78 |isbn=978-3-540-76582-0}}</ref> as well as having other applications in medicine and science.<ref name="glassalliance">{{cite web|url=https://www.glassallianceeurope.eu/en/applications |title=Glass Applications – Glass Alliance Europe |publisher=Glassallianceeurope.eu |access-date=2020-03-01}}</ref> Glass is also employed as the aperture cover in many [[solar energy]] collectors.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QNTKBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA122 |title=Solar Energy Sciences and Engineering Applications |last1=Enteria |first1=Napoleon |last2=Akbarzadeh |first2=Aliakbar |pages=122 |year=2013 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-0-203-76205-9}}</ref>

In the 21st century, glass manufacturers have developed different brands of [[chemically strengthened glass]] for widespread application in [[touchscreen]]s for [[smartphone]]s, [[tablet computer]]s, and many other types of [[information appliance]]s. These include [[Gorilla Glass]], developed and manufactured by [[Corning Inc.|Corning]], [[AGC Inc.]]'s [[Dragontrail]] and [[Schott AG]]'s Xensation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.physnews.com/materials-news/cluster251747226/ |title=Gorilla Glass maker unveils ultra-thin and flexible Willow Glass |work=Physics News |access-date=2013-11-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131106075448/http://www.physnews.com/materials-news/cluster251747226/ |archive-date=6 November 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.schott.com/xensation/english/index.html |title=Xensation |publisher=[[Schott AG|Schott]] |access-date=2013-11-01 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103224742/http://www.schott.com/xensation/english/index.html |archive-date=2013-11-03 }}</ref><ref name="gensix">{{cite web |url=https://www.engadget.com/2018/07/18/corning-unveils-gorilla-glass-6/ |title=Gorilla Glass 6 gives phones a better shot at surviving multiple drops |publisher=Engadget |date=19 July 2018 |first=Jon |last=Fingas }}</ref>