Glass Waste

Activity – Present this short history of Glass as a Timeline

When did it all happen?

• 5000 BC Glass was discovered either in Egypt or by Phoenician merchants by accident.  Primitive glass formed in campfires when silica from flint, quartz or sand mixed with potash from burnt wood
• 1600BC Fragments of glass from this date are found in Mesopotamia showing that hollow glass had been produced there.  Other glass making activities may have been evolving independently in Greece, China and North Tyrol (Austria)
• 27BC – 14 AD Glass blowing discovered in Syria.  The metal tube used for blowing has changed little since then.  The technique was spread by the Romans
• 100 AD The Romans discovered making clear glass by adding magnesium oxide.  This was used in Pompeii’s luxurious houses
• 11th & 12th Centuries AD  German craftsmen developed techniques for making glass sheets
• 1696  Since windows allowed in light by which people could work eg at textile weaving, the British Government introduced a tax on them!
• 17th Century  Englishman George Ravenscroft discovered adding lead oxide to glass made it reflect light better.  Also around this time the French discovered a method of pouring glass and polishing it with sand and felt discs to make mirrors    
• 20th Century  Squeezing glass through rollers to make it flat allowed the technology of glass windows to evolve and led to modern double glazing!

Note: You may wish to illustrate it.