Glass, Tech and Civilization: The Material that Makes Just About Everything Better
1)Â Glass Works: How Corning Created the Ultrathin, Ultrastrong Material of the Future:Â How a "botched experiment" in 1952 and a series of failed business plans, plus a litlte Steve Jobs kismet, led to Gorilla glass. (via Wired)Â
2)Â Why Curved Glass Will Change Gadget Design Forever: "...The production technique behind 3-D shaped Gorilla Glass allows for glass that can bend as much as 75 to 80 degrees without breaking, as well as be molded into dramatic new shapes. And that's a big deal, because it heralds the end of the age of the rectangle..."
3)Â Corning Museum of Glass:Â Yes. Go. An amazing resource to learn about the history, technology and art of glass. For those not in Corning, NY, there are online demos and a really tasty e-gift shop. (website)Â
4) Museo del Vetro: Currently under renovation until the middle of 2014, the Glass Museum on the Venetian island of Murano is still very much worth a visit.. Art, craft and  technological brilliance will inspire. (website)
5) History of Glass: From arrowheads to Mesopotamia to the Chrystal Palace, glass has been a defining material of civilization. (via Wikipedia)Â
6)Â Bullseye Glass Company:Â A Portland-based manufacturer of art glass for glass art founded 30 years ago by "three hippie glassblowers." They specialize in glass that can fused in a kiln. (website)Â
7)Â Bullseye Kiln-glass Education Online Trailer:Â Click through to the Bullseye YouTube channel for dozens of how-to videos.Â
8)Â You can now 3D print in glass with Shapeways: The process has several steps, including a session in a kiln, but shapes previously difficult to imagine in glass are now possible. (via Shapeways blog / video)Â
9) Glass Art Society: International organization "to promote the appreciation and development of the glass arts. 2014 Conference in Chicago. (website)Â
10)Â Glass Beach, Fort Bragg, California: Â Bottles tossed into a now-closed garbage dump and tumbled by oceans waves create a glittery beach. (Wikipedia)Â
11) From Trash to Treasure - Sea Glass in Fort Bragg, California (video)
12) Stained Glass That Doubles As A Solar Power Source: "Lux Gloria," an installation in a Saskatoon, Saskatchewan church by artist Sarah Hall, generates 2,500 kw hours of power per year and is tied into the grid. (via PopSci)
13) Onyx Building Integrated Photovoltaics: Spanish company (with an office in NY) specializes in working with architects to creates photovoltaic arrays that become a part of structure rather than an add-on. Arrays available with both clear and colored glass (website). Also, check out the blog.Â
14)Â Onyx Solar Corporate Video (English):Â "...Isn't it extraordinary that an installation just 10 meters square can over the course of a single year generate enough electricity to power an electric car for more than 10,000Â kilometers" Well, yes, it is... (stay with it for the solar array inspired by Piet Mondrian's mosaic paintings about 2/3s of the way through)
15) ArchiExpo: Thermal insulation glass: Browse away. Glass that's just glass  just isn't enough any more...  (via ArchiExpo e-magazine)Â
16)Â Peek-A-Boo, We See You! Top Crystal-Clear Glass Buildings:Â An eye-candy round-up of glass buildings and homes (via Architizer)Â
17)Â Amazing Glass: 15 Creative Uses of Glass in Architecture:Â More glass architecture (via The Coolist)Â
18) What is Scientific Glassblowing? "...For centuries the knowledge and art of scientific glassblowers have been integral to the development of chemical, pharmaceutical, electronic and physics research. Some notable examples include Galileoâs thermometer, Edisonâs light bulb, and the vacuum tubes of early radio, TV and computers." (via The American Scientific Glassblowers Society)Â
19)Â The invention of spectacles: Count on the Brits for an exhaustive article on the origin of eyeglasses. But, of course it took Ben Franklin's Yankeen ingenuity to come up with bifocals... (via Royal College of Optometrists website)
20) Specs appeal: German physics teacher brings affordable glasses to Rwanda. Brilliant. A machine that can produce thousands of pairs of eyeglasses at a cost of less than a dollar per.  Also, Siemens-Stiftung site entry.Â
21)Â History of the Microscope:Â Several decades after Dutch spectacle-makers experimented with combining lenses in a tube in the 1590s, Anton van Leeuwenhoek, a draper by profession,started grinding his own lenses and seriously exploring the world the small. (via History to the Microscope website)
22) Who Invented the Telescope? Technically, it was a Dutchman who filed the first patent, but Galileoâwho built his ownâwas the first to focus on the stars. (via Space.com)Â
23)Â How To Make A Telescope Lens - The Story Of Science:Â For all you DIY Makers out there, this one's for you. "..."This joining of the skills of scholars and craftsmen was key to the emerging power of European science." (via BBC / video)Â Â














