The statistical and critical tensile stresses associated with crack initiation on glass surfaces are dependent on the size and location of pre-existing flaws. The introduction, sizes, concentrations, and distribution of those pre-existing flaws at any moment of time are a direct and cumulative consequence of any glass's manufacturing, packaging, handling, and service histories. A new, nondestructive "High Resolution Flaw Classification System" is under development that rapidly identifies, measures, and maps surface-located flaws on glass. Flaws smaller than 8 x 8 um are detectable and many square centimetres per second can be scanned. The potential mechanical response of that glass, with that quantified surface-flaw state at that moment of time, can then be predicted using the classical Griffith criterion.
