The glass used in our daily lives is made of ordinary glass and toughened glass. The latter is also known as tempered glass, which has been processed to make it stronger and more flexible than ordinary glass. When broken, tempered glass breaks into small pieces that cannot cause serious injury to people or objects.
In the production of glass, the homogenization will inevitably have traces. During the cooling process of ordinary glass, its internal stress is released by spontaneous cracks and natural cracks, while toughened glass is cooled in a state under pressure to make its internal stress reach a balance state.
Refractive index
If you want to know whether glass is toughened, the first thing to check is its refractive index. Ordinary glass has a refractive index of 1.5-1.6 and toughened glass has a refractive index range of 1.5-1.8, so this is the best way to tell if your piece of glass has been tempered or not.
Visual method
- Take a look at your glass. You can tell if it's tempered glass just by looking at it, because tempered glass is transparent while ordinary glass isn't.
If you're not sure what type of glass you have, try the following test:
- Hold both types of glasses up to the light and compare their transparency levels;
- Place both varieties on a flat table and slide them across each other in opposite directions;
- If either type of window shatters when tapped with something hard (like a screwdriver or pen), it's most likely not tempered but rather ordinary clear pane(s).
Drop test
There is a simple way to tell whether or not your window glass is toughened glass: the drop test. If you are able to drop a hammer onto the glass and it breaks into several large pieces, then this indicates that the material is ordinary (untempered) glass. However, if when dropped from a height of three feet or higher onto concrete or hardwood flooring, it shatters into small pieces that may even be difficult to pick up using tweezers and/or paper towels—then this indicates that what you have purchased is in fact toughened (tempered) safety glazing material!
The toughness of tempered glass is 3-5 times that of ordinary glass. If it breaks into small particles, it will not cause serious harm to people. However, if it falls on the ground, it may cause serious harm to people.
If glass breaks into small particles, it will not cause serious harm to people. However, if it falls on the ground, it may cause serious harm to people.
The toughness of toughened glass is 3-5 times that of ordinary glass. If it breaks into small particles, it will not cause serious harm to people. However, if it falls on the ground, it may cause serious harm to people.
Finally, we believe that with the development of technology, the production process of glass will be more and more perfect. The toughness of tempered glass is higher than that of ordinary glass, but it can also be broken into small pieces without causing serious harm to people. However, if you drop it on the ground from a high place, it may cause serious injuries. In addition, when choosing a glass product for your home decoration or naming ceremony event decoration (such as wine cups), you should choose tempered glasses instead of ordinary glasses because they are safer! You can also use other materials such as crystal.