Tempered Glass

Tempered glass is much stronger than regular glass. It gets its strength from a combination of heating and chemical treatments. It also has a special property which causes the whole panel to shatter at once. It will not get a hole or a crack instead a sheet of tempered glass will shatter into a lot of small pieces. Tempered glass is used in places where regular glass could be dangerous.

The windows in vehicles (not the windshield) are made of tempered glass. This helps to protect passengers from being seriously cut up from large pieces of flying glass. Tempered glass is used in many household objects. Coffee carafes, glass tables, and refrigerator shelves can all be made from this type of safety glass.

Tempered glass can also withstand greater temperatures and some types of glass cookware are manufactured using this glass. The last thing anyone wants is for their casserole pan to break at a bad moment.

Although tempered glass is tougher in the case of impacts and heat it is not naturally scratch resistant. Some tempered glass with be coated with chemicals to make it scratchproof. Tempered glass is not the strongest glass available. Acrylic is becoming a popular alternative to safety glass. It is much stronger than either tempered or regular glass.

Safety glass needs to be used in order to protect people in certain circumstances. Using tempered glass in the home and workplace is just another link in the chain of ways to keep people safe.