Float glass

Float glass is flat glass formed by spreading molten glass over molten tin. The process produces sheets with smooth, nearly parallel surfaces and uniform thickness.

Float glass process: A continuous method that forms flat glass by floating molten glass on molten tin before cooling it. This is the defining production route that gives float glass its smooth, parallel surfaces.
Alastair Pilkington: A British engineer who developed the practical float-glass manufacturing process. His work turned floating glass on molten tin into a commercially successful method.
Soda-lime glass: A common glass made mainly from silica, soda, and lime. Most architectural float glass uses this composition.
Architectural glass: Glass used in buildings for windows, façades, partitions, and other architectural elements. Flat float sheets are a principal starting material for building glazing.
Rolled glass: Flat glass formed by passing molten glass through rollers. Rollers shape this glass mechanically, unlike float glass’s freely leveled surface.
Molten tin: Tin heated above its melting point, forming a dense liquid metal. Its liquid surface supports the glass ribbon without reacting significantly with it.
Crown glass: A historical sheet-glass type made by spinning molten glass into a disk and cutting panes from it. Its labor-intensive forming illustrates the production limits float glass overcame.
Silica: Silicon dioxide, a compound that forms the main network in ordinary glass. Silica supplies the glass network that is melted before forming.
Insulating glass: A glazing unit made from two or more panes separated by a sealed space. Float-glass panes form the layers in many insulating window units.
Drawn sheet glass: Flat glass made by drawing a continuous sheet upward from molten glass. Drawing forms a sheet without a molten-metal bath and can leave more surface distortion.

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