What state of matter is glass?

Answer 1

Glass is a solid. Specifically, it is an amorphous solid. The reason that many old panes of glass are thicker at one end is because the medieval glaziers sometimes could not cast perfectly uniform sheets of glass and, for obvious reasons, put the thicker end at the bottom.

glass is actually a liquid. older windows tend to be thicker at the bottom than at the top. this is because, though it moves VERY slowly, it is a liquid, not a solid.

This is a MASSIVE oversimplification of a highly technical argument. It's also factually incorrect; panes of glass in old windows are thicker at the bottom because they were thicker on one edge to begin with (due to how panes of glass were made at the time) and the glaziers cleverly figured out that, hey, they balance better if you put the WIDE edge on the BOTTOM instead of the top.

Also, you can without too much difficulty find windows where they put the glass in any old way, and the thick edge is on the top on some panes, and on the left on some panes, and on the right on some panes, and on the bottom on some panes.

To put the final nail in the coffin, the lead solder used to hold the panes in place (which NOBODY argues is a liquid) often has a measurably LOWER viscosity than the glass does, but you don't see little puddles of lead at the bottom of the windows.

Among materials scientists, the preferred term is "amorphous solid" or, indeed, "glass". (Not universally, but by a pretty clear majority.) Those who are primarily interested in thermodynamics properties will sometimes use "supercooled liquid."

Answer 2

Glass is a supercooled liquid. Next time you look at church windows you will see how some of the glass at the bottom of the stained window panes is lumpy. This is because of the rate at which the glass is flowing, and direction. However we dont notice it as it takes a long time for this to happen and the cups we have usually break before they become lumpy.