chemistry

Glass database

Glass database is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Glass database rather than just read about it. In short: A glass database is a collection of glass compositions, glass properties, glass models, associated trademark names, patents, etc. These data were collected from publications in scientific papers and patents, from personal communication with scientists and engineers, and other relevant sources.

Key takeaways

Glass database belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Glass database to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Glass database from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

A glass database is a collection of glass compositions, glass properties, glass models, associated trademark names, patents, etc. These data were collected from publications in scientific papers and patents, from personal communication with scientists and engineers, and other relevant sources.

History Since the beginning of scientific glass research in the 19th century, thousands of glass property-composition datasets were published. The first attempt to summarize all those data systematically was the monograph Glastechnische Tabellen. World War II and the Cold War prevented similar efforts for many years afterwards. In 1956, Phase Diagrams for Ceramists was published for the first time, containing a collection of phase diagrams. This database is known today as Phase Equilibria Diagrams. in 1983, the Handbook of Glass Data was published, followed by the creation of the Japanese database Interglad in 1991. The Handbook of Glass Data was later digitized and substantially expanded under the name SciGlass. Currently, SciGlass contains properties of about 400,000 glass compositions, Interglad about 380,000, and Phase Equilibria Diagrams about 31,000. In 2019, the SciGlass data was made publicly available on GitHub under the ODC Open Database License (ODbL). In 2023, the re-emergence of the SciGlass database as SciGlass Sage offered AI assistance, a property predictor powered by random forest regression models, and a generator using predictive models in conjunction with genetic algorithms. In 2024, SciGlass Next was created as an open-access web database utilizing the SciGlass data available on GitHub. The database is hosted in the public domain of Friedrich Schiller University Jena.

The website provides comprehensive documentation, including step-by-step instructions and glossaries of properties and symbols used. Most features are covered, including:

Glasses: 422,000+ glasses and melts. Sourced from 40,000+ literature sources, including 19,700+ patents. Data Tables: Search data and export tables for post-processing. Data Visualization: Interactive data visualization with scatter plots, histograms, ternary plots, and curve fitting. Authentication: Secured Single Sign-On (SSO) authentication of users. ML Predictions (Future): Python-backed ML predictions for glass properties. Sidebar Quick Lookup: Categories of patent index, trademark index, author index, subject index, spectral index and glass formation.

Glass database contents The following list of glass database contents is not complete, and it may not be up to date. For full features see the references section below. All databases contain citations to the original data sources and the chemical composition of the glasses or ceramics.

SciGlass: Viscosity, density, mechanical properties, optical properties (including optical spectra), thermal expansion and other thermal properties, electrical properties, chemical durability, liquidus temperatures, crystallization characteristics, ternary diagrams of glass formation, glass property calculation methods, patent and trademark index, subject index, etc. Interglad: Viscosity, density, mechanical properties, optical properties, electrical properties, statistical analysis, liquidus temperatures, ternary property diagrams Phase Equilibria Diagrams: Phase diagrams, including liquidus and solidus temperatures, eutectic points, crystalline phases, primary crystalline phases

Application Experimental planning, expected properties, and appropriate glass compositions can be estimated from similar data. Calculation of glass properties based on many independent data sources. Scientific understanding of glass composition-property relations. Design of glass compositions that are not patented by competitors. System design and optimization including design for purpose and design for cost.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Glass database

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Glass database claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Glass database before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Glass database ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Glass database

In research: Glass database appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Glass database in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Glass database is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Ceramic materials, Chemical databases, Glass chemistry, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Glass database outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Glass database in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Glass database means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Glass database out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Glass database in simple terms?

Why does Glass database matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Glass database?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Glass database.