Difference between revisions of "Glass"

From Marspedia
Jump to: navigation, search
m (Point link to existing article.)
(7 intermediate revisions by 2 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
'''Glass''' is a transparent, strong, brittle material resistant to most chemicals. Glass could be made from [[sand]], although making glass requires a lot of thermal [[energy]]. Glass may be combined with [[plastics]] to increase its strength and [[radiation]] [[radiation shielding|shielding]] capabilities.
+
[[File:Dome.jpg|thumb|450x450px|A classic glass geodesic dome.  The glass panes in this image might be too large to be easily produced on Mars, or might need to be too thick, due to to internal pressure in the dome.]]
 +
'''Glass''' is a transparent, strong, brittle material resistant to most chemicals. Glass is a mainly a compound of [[Silica]] (SiO2), mixed with other elements such as chlorines, iron and alumina oxides. Glass is made mainly from silica [[sand]] and requires thermal [[energy]]. Glass may be combined with [[plastics]] to increase its strength and [[radiation]] [[radiation shielding|shielding]] capabilities.
  
A glass-blower can create a very wide variety of useful vessels, utensils, instruments, and chemical equipment from [[Mars|Martian]] sand, although these will often have to be designed very differently from the analogous equipment on [[Earth]]. The glass-blowing craft requires only other small-scale crafts for its equipment ([[brick]]-making for the furnace and [[blacksmith]]ing for its [[iron]] tools), thus qualifies as a small-scale craft suitable for a frontier town (small and largely self-sufficient) economy.
+
Glass is an excellent candidate for [[In-situ resource utilization|ISRU]], as the source materials are abundant on Mars and local production costs  should be orders of magnitude bellow transportation costs from Earth.  Glass [[embodied energy]] is  6-15 MJ/kg for finished products.
 +
 
 +
A glass-blower can create a very wide variety of useful vessels, utensils, instruments, and chemical equipment from [[Mars|Martian]] sand, although these may have to be designed very differently from the analogous equipment on [[Earth]]. The glass-blowing craft requires only other small-scale crafts for its equipment ([[brick]]-making for the furnace and [[blacksmith]]ing for its [[iron]] tools), thus qualifies as a small-scale craft suitable for a frontier town (small and largely self-sufficient) economy.
 +
 
 +
'''Fiberglass'''
 +
Glass is not commonly used as a structural material because it is brittle. One solution to this problem is to use glass fibers in a composite material, [[fiberglass]] or FRP. The matrix that holds the glass fibers is usually a plastic, epoxy or polyester resins. Metal-matrix composites and even glass-matrix composites do exist, but are little used on Earth.
 +
 
 +
Glass fibers are also used to transmit light for communication systems or lighting in the form of optical fibers.
 +
 
 +
'''Glass sheets'''
 +
Flat plane glass, also known as sheet glass or Soda Glass is a common construction material on Earth.
 +
 
 +
Due to the 1/3 [[gravity]], windows, structures, and chemical equipment made out of glass might be manufactured much larger than on Earth, yet still hold up under their own weight and be easy to transport.  Large glass bricks or thick windows may make excellent structural material.  Water ice sandwiched and sealed between two layers of glass may make an excellent radiation shielding structure.  Pressure vessels with glass elements are more difficult to construct than opaque metallic vessels.  Water affects the structural strength of glass.  Is some cases where water is not present, very strong glass might be produced on Mars.  
  
Due to the 1/3 [[gravity]], windows, structures, and chemical equipment made out of glass can be much larger than on Earth, yet still hold up under their own weight and be easy to transport.  Large glass bricks or thick windows may make excellent structural material.  Water ice sandwiched and sealed between two layers of glass may make an excellent radiation shielding structure.  Pressure vessels with glass may be more difficult and may require glass brick.
 
  
 
While the Martian [[population]] is small, goods made by talented Martian artists and craftsmen out of native Martian materials will probably have high curiosity and scarcity values on Earth, and thus may [[:category:commerce|fetch high premiums]] as collectibles.  
 
While the Martian [[population]] is small, goods made by talented Martian artists and craftsmen out of native Martian materials will probably have high curiosity and scarcity values on Earth, and thus may [[:category:commerce|fetch high premiums]] as collectibles.  
  
[[Category:Lo-tech]]
+
==See also==
[[Category:Small-scale-tech]]
+
[[In-situ resource utilization|ISRU]]  
[[Category:Exports]]
+
 
 +
[[Category:Materials]]

Revision as of 07:50, 24 February 2022

A classic glass geodesic dome. The glass panes in this image might be too large to be easily produced on Mars, or might need to be too thick, due to to internal pressure in the dome.

Glass is a transparent, strong, brittle material resistant to most chemicals. Glass is a mainly a compound of Silica (SiO2), mixed with other elements such as chlorines, iron and alumina oxides. Glass is made mainly from silica sand and requires thermal energy. Glass may be combined with plastics to increase its strength and radiation shielding capabilities.

Glass is an excellent candidate for ISRU, as the source materials are abundant on Mars and local production costs should be orders of magnitude bellow transportation costs from Earth. Glass embodied energy is 6-15 MJ/kg for finished products.

A glass-blower can create a very wide variety of useful vessels, utensils, instruments, and chemical equipment from Martian sand, although these may have to be designed very differently from the analogous equipment on Earth. The glass-blowing craft requires only other small-scale crafts for its equipment (brick-making for the furnace and blacksmithing for its iron tools), thus qualifies as a small-scale craft suitable for a frontier town (small and largely self-sufficient) economy.

Fiberglass Glass is not commonly used as a structural material because it is brittle. One solution to this problem is to use glass fibers in a composite material, fiberglass or FRP. The matrix that holds the glass fibers is usually a plastic, epoxy or polyester resins. Metal-matrix composites and even glass-matrix composites do exist, but are little used on Earth.

Glass fibers are also used to transmit light for communication systems or lighting in the form of optical fibers.

Glass sheets Flat plane glass, also known as sheet glass or Soda Glass is a common construction material on Earth.

Due to the 1/3 gravity, windows, structures, and chemical equipment made out of glass might be manufactured much larger than on Earth, yet still hold up under their own weight and be easy to transport. Large glass bricks or thick windows may make excellent structural material. Water ice sandwiched and sealed between two layers of glass may make an excellent radiation shielding structure. Pressure vessels with glass elements are more difficult to construct than opaque metallic vessels. Water affects the structural strength of glass. Is some cases where water is not present, very strong glass might be produced on Mars.


While the Martian population is small, goods made by talented Martian artists and craftsmen out of native Martian materials will probably have high curiosity and scarcity values on Earth, and thus may fetch high premiums as collectibles.

See also

ISRU