Welcome to the Glass Age

39 examples are the thermometer and barometer, which in turn initiated an understanding of weather forecasting and even chemical thermodynamics. Glasses, water and energy In the last century, billions of people have experienced an unprecedented rise in living standards, but many still live with little access to clean water. Sufficient fresh water exists but damaging economics or poor infrastructure cause millions to die annually from diseases linked to inadequate supplies, sanitation, and hygiene. Similar issues impact adversely on food security, life choices and educational opportunities. Industrial discharges, excess agrochemicals and domestic waste landfill contaminate surface and groundwater. Glass can mimic current water treatment processes. Porous foam glass or phase separated glass filters can aid sanitization (and purify air, another global issue). Sunlight on coated glass immersed in solutions of organic pollutants can oxidize many into non-toxic products and likewise restore drinking water. Most cost-effective is a combination of porous glass filters with titania-coated glass. Energy with water epitomize the opportunities and challenges the world faces. Universal access to energy is also crucial to build more sustainable and inclusive communities and in turn entails more efficient generation, renewable energy sources and ways to store it. This theme is taken up in Chapter 4. Glasses and medicine Scientific endeavor has also relied heavily on glass. The alchemists of the Middle Ages made complex glass equipment to pursue their dreams of chemical transformation and incidentally created a tool-box for apothecaries (Figure 2.8). In the last few decades glasses have themselves become the biocompatible and bioactive products that have been universally life changing for patients; much more can be found in Chapter 3. Glasses for communications and electronics The use of glass envelopes for lighting revolutionized our capacity for making lamps and fluorescent tubes during the late 19 th century. Similar technology led to a revolution in electronics. In the UK many disabled soldiers were trained in lamp working at Sheffield University and the electronics industry between WW1 and WW2 grew largely based on Figure 2.8. A variety of glass objects made for the Alchemists of an earlier age. Source: Andreas Libavius.