Page 11 - The Science of Glass
P. 11
Molten glass has the
thickness of molasses
and is usually a
bright orange color.
This modern illustration People in Syria invented the
shows an ancient blowpipe around 300 BC. This simple
Egyptian glassblower.
tool revolutionized glassmaking.
Artisans placed globs of glass that had
been softened by the heat of a fire onto
the ends of hollow pipes. Then, they
blew into the pipes while they rotated
them. The short puffs of air formed
the glass into bubbles. This practice
became known as glassblowing.
Thanks to this technique, glassblowers
could make vessels of any shape or size.
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