Is glass a real solid or liquid?

Answer 1

Glass is a SolidAn Amorphous Solid?
1. Glass is an amorphous solid. Glass can flow and move over low periods of time, but it is considered a solid.

2. Actually Glass is not amorphous and it most certainly doesn't flow over long periods of time.

Many people believe this myth, but it is simply not true.
Many people use the "glass is thicker at the bottom of stained glass windows in churches' argument to say that glass does flow.
The simple reason why they are thicker at the bottom is because they were made that way for a stronger structure.
Think about all the glass vases and ornaments that the Egyptians made; they have not deformed in the slightest.

Answer 2

Contrary to what some science teachers and tour guides may say, glass is NOT a "slow-moving liquid". That's an urban legend.

Many years ago, the method of making glass panes involved spinning a glob of glass on a flat disk until the glass flattened, which caused the outside edge to be thicker than the center. When the disk of glass was cut into panes, one edge was always slightly thicker.

"Estimates of the viscosity of glasses at room temperature run as high as 10 to the 20th power Scientists and engineers may argue about the exact value of that number, but it is doubtful that there is any real physical significance to a viscosity as great as that anyway. As for cathedral windows, it is hard to believe that anything that viscous is going to flow at all.

It is worth noting, too, that at room temperature the viscosity of metallic lead has been estimated to be about 10 to the11th power, poises, that is, perhaps a billion times less viscous-or a billion times more fluid, if you prefer than glass. Presumably, then, the lead caming that holds stained glass pieces in place should have flowed a billion times more readily than the glass. While lead caming often bends and buckles under the enormous architectural stresses imposed on it, one never hears that the lead has flowed like a liquid."

-Dr. Robert Brill, Corning Museum of Glass

p.s.

1. The more viscous a liquid, the higher its resistance to flow - not the other way around.

2. It's "Newtonian", not "Neutonian".

3. Although glass exhibits characteristics of both liquid and solid, it's categorized as an amorphous or "pseudo" solid. http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/Ge...

http://dwb.unl.edu/Teacher/NSF/C01/C01Li...

http://www.spectrumglass.com/Library/Sco...

http://www.glassnotes.com/WindowPanes.ht...

http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/ch...

http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/mar...

http://www.seps.org/oracle/oracle.archiv...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass

Answer 3

There is no clear answer to the question "Is glass solid or liquid?". In terms of molecular dynamics and thermodynamics it is possible to justify various different views that it is a highly viscous liquid, an amorphous solid, or simply that glass is another state of matter that is neither liquid nor solid. The difference is semantic. In terms of its material properties we can do little better. There is no clear definition of the distinction between solids and highly viscous liquids. All such phases or states of matter are idealisations of real material properties. Nevertheless, from a more common sense point of view, glass should be considered a solid since it is rigid according to everyday experience. The use of the term "supercooled liquid" to describe glass still persists, but is considered by many to be an unfortunate misnomer that should be avoided. In any case, claims that glass panes in old windows have deformed due to glass flow have never been substantiated. Examples of Roman glassware and calculations based on measurements of glass visco-properties indicate that these claims cannot be true. The observed features are more easily explained as a result of the imperfect methods used to make glass window panes before the float glass process was invented.

Answer 4

Glass is a slow moving hard liquid.

and it could also be solid because its hard at one point.

Answer 5

Glass is not scientifically considered a liquid. It is instead considered a solid. The belief that it's a supercooled liquid has been proven false.

Answer 6

Glass is a non-crystalline amorphous solid material, not a liquid. It may appear to flow like a liquid over a long period of time, but it is a solid at room temperature.

Answer 7

Yea, glass is a luquid not a solid.

Answer 8

solid