Ask the Mountie
Could you tell me at what temperature sand becomes glass?
Dear Mr Mountie,
I must have gone through 6 cans of lighter fluid,but I still cant seem to
produce even a shard of glass in my sandpit. Before I waste even more matches
and fuel could you tell me at what temperature sand becomes glass?
Christopher
Dear Christopher
The temperature you wish to achieve is 1300° C. Build yourself a small
furnace and try again. However, melting glass is serious business and not
something that should be undertaken in such a frivolous place as a sandpit.
Indeed the fine Austronauts of NASA
(sponsored by the German Aerospace Center) are risking life and limb to hurl
themselves into outer space in order to watch glass melt:
On board the space shuttle Endeavour during the STS-89 mission GAS payload
experiment G-145 successfully observed the shrinking behaviour of a helium
bubble in melted glass during a 3.5 hour period.
Yours Truly
Mr Mountie
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