Understanding Glass Formation

This article examines the structures and calculated properties of glasses when developing a glaze system for use as a coating on a ceramic body. Glass can be described as a transparent product possessing the properties of hardness, rigidity and brittleness. Some oxides can be obtained in the form of glasses when they are cooled, and the ability to form a glass depends on the oxygen ions arrangement in forming the unit cell of the crystal structure. Understanding the structures and calculated properties of glasses is necessary when developing a glaze system for use as crystal, opaque, transparent or matte coating on ceramic bodies.