Glass, when used as an architectural or interior design element, adds an awesome visual appeal to the space. However, a lot of people stay away from it because glass is fragile. It breaks on the smallest of impacts. You don’t have to worry about such aspects anymore. Technology has created a special kind of glass called tempered safety glass which has admirable strength.
Tempered safety glass is constructed in a unique manner. During the annealing process, glass is subjected to very high temperatures. Once the maximum temperature is reached, glass is cooled very quickly by forcing air on it. This sudden cooling creates a lot of strain within the material and it becomes tough. Owing to this feature, tempered glass is also called toughened safety glass.
In terms of strength, tempered safety glass is almost five times stronger than normal glass. A major safety feature of this kind of glass is the way it breaks. When a large force of impact hits the glass, the surface breaks into small pieces with blunt edges. So, the glass is safe when it breaks as well. Another advantage is that tempered glass is scratch resistant to a great extent.
The drawback of tempered glass is its brittleness. Although it is tough, the strain inside the material makes it more brittle. You cannot grind, scratch or drill it without causing it to crack.
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