National Science Week: 2022 - Glass: more than meets the eye

Did you know?

Glass is used in a huge range of technologies including:

► safety glass

► solar panels

► optical fibre

► car windshields 

► aeroplane windows

► electrochromic glass

► deep sea submersible portholes

► Gorilla Glass in phones 

► Xensation Flex foldable glass

► glass on the International Space Station

► vials for transporting the COVID-19 vaccine    

Kids of all ages are invited to join in a science bonanza at the Australian Museum, the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney and the Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan. Or traverse the trail online, and discover cutting-edge science at home.

Glass from volcanoes, meteorites and spinifex

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have used natural forms of glass to make cutting tools for many thousands of years. These tools were used for a variety of tasks, including preparing food, creating clothing, and for warfare and ceremonial purposes.

Rare 100yo glass spearhead found on Rottnest Island may have been used to hunt quokkas

Volcanic glass, called obsidian, is one example of natural glass. Another is Australites, which are made during meteorite impacts when molten material splashes into the sky and falls back to Earth.

A third type of natural glass is Darwin glass, which is found in Tasmania and probably formed in a meteorite impact crater. Tasmanian Aboriginal peoples have used this glass to make incredibly sharp tools. The oldest Darwin glass tool dates from 27,000 years ago.

Spinifex resin is a type of glass too – though it is quite different from window glass. It is a type of thermoplastic, a glassy polymer similar to acrylic and hot glue. Spinifex resin is made by processing and heating spinifex grass. When it is hot, the resin is a thick liquid. It cools into a hard, smooth solid. First Nations peoples have used spinifex resin as a glue, to make objects waterproof and to make beads for thousands of years. It is still used today.

Solar panels create electricity from sunlight.

They are covered in glass to protect them from rain and damage.

Many of the interior components are made from silica, the main ingredient of glass.

The school theme for National Science Week in 2022 is 

Glass: More than meets the eye

It is based on the UN International Year of Glass.

It will celebrate the many roles that glass plays in our lives – from phone screens to optical fibre to glassware in labs – plus investigating glass as a part of our sustainable future. 

Glass marbles are used in spray cans to stir the paint when you shake the can – that’s what makes the rattling noise

Watch the glass-blower as he works some brilliant magic to create those magical spheres of beauty that we call marbles.

Honey and molten glass share an interesting property.

They are both thicker when cold, and runny when hot. 

SOKTAS Handcrafted Glass Lighting. Designed and Handmade by Oliver Hoglund in New Zealand. VOLT Pendant Light.

Click on the image above and sign in using your school email address to borrow this book

Have you ever thought about how the glass bottles and jars you use in your everyday life are made?

Reusing bottles and jars is better than recycling, because it requires less energy to transport and create the new object. What could you do with bottles and jars? Can you design a system to reuse bottles and jars endlessly?

► For fun glass upcycling activities go to the Activities for Students section of this guide.

Telescopes have made it possible to investigate stars and planets, showing details that are invisible to the naked eye. They come in many types, but perhaps the most iconic is the optical refractor telescope, which uses lenses to refract light and make faraway objects seem larger.

Find out about the Giant Magellan Telescope, currently under construction in Chile, which uses enormous glass mirrors.

Find out about the new James Webb Space Telescope which  uses a mirror made of gold-coated beryllium instead of glass because it is light, strong and can withstand the cold of space.