About 9 months ago the closing ceremony ofInternational Year of Glass: an entire year, designated by the United Nations, to celebrate the value of glass for the present and future of our society.
But why glass? It is now well known that this material is associated with multiple adjectives belonging to different semantic fields. Simply browse our macro category "Glass is... " to identify some of the most appropriate terms to describe this material in its wonderful versatility.
Seeing glass in everyday life
However, identifying its many application fields may be slightly more complex. This material is in fact an essential component of numerous products that we use every day, often without realizing it.
We easily associate it with table elements, such as glasses, plates, cups and bowls, and to those for the the packaging (bottles, flacons and vases). And to sectors such asbuilding and design, where this material is frequently the protagonist. Windows, facades, balconies, mirrors, tables, lamps and chandeliers these are just some of the most obvious examples of glass applications. But the material also offers strategic solutions in the field ofthermal and acoustic insulation and reinforcement structures.
In technologies
The innumerable properties of the vitreous substance favor its use in theautomotive and transport, to windscreen, lights and light but resistant structural elements. And of theelectronics and household appliances, for hobs, ovens, TV screens, computers and smartphone.
But the union between glass and technology finds its maximum expression in cables in optical fiber, promoters of the progressive digitalisation of our communications and economies.
And in green energy
The material also acts as a great ally of medical scienceand biotechnology and life science engineering. And as a supporter of a wider diffusion of renewable energy; in fact, think about glass PV, but also to the glass fibers used to create the high-resistance composite materials that make up wind turbines.
In extreme summary, as underlined by Glass Alliance Europe, the glass industry confirms itself as the key sector for the sustainable growth of numerous sectors and, more generally, for the design of clean, low-carbon cities open to innovation.
Find out more about the application fields of this wonderful material, thanks to the video created by Glass Alliance Europe:
Source: glassallianceeurope.eu
