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Fused quartz glass has an extremely low expansion coefficient. I think I once read on the internet that it can go from 1500°C into water without cracking from thermal shock. Sometimes people drip what's left over into water to put it somewhere but that type of glass probably wouldn't crack. Also, it can get heated to a really high temperature before it starts softening to a noticeable amount. I think it might also be stronger than soda lime glass. It's probably also extremely insoluble in water unlike soda lime glass. It can also be put in an annealer so that it will cool very slowly and be free of stress after it cools. So why isn't that the normal regular type of glass we use?

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Because compared to ordinary glass, it is expensive to make, and difficult to process. For these reasons it is used only in those applications where its thermal properties are needed.

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  • $\begingroup$ It would be kind of nice to know the details of why that is so and have the reason explained in a way that I can understand. I'm no expert in the field. $\endgroup$
    – Timothy
    Apr 26, 2020 at 20:38
  • $\begingroup$ because it contains no aluminum and sodium oxides, its melting point is very high, requiring special manufacturing methods including sintering, in which powdered silica is pressed into a shape which is then baked in an oven until the particles fuse. this is a lot more expensive than pouring molten glass into sheets or blowing hot blobs of it into bottles or jars. $\endgroup$
    – niels nielsen
    Apr 26, 2020 at 22:08
  • $\begingroup$ I want to know the reason it can't be heated furnace just like regular glass. Is it because it would have to be heated to such a high temperature? If so, why can't it just be heated to a higher temperature in a glass furnace to be a bit viscous but not too viscous? $\endgroup$
    – Timothy
    Apr 26, 2020 at 22:17
  • $\begingroup$ silica has a melt temperature similar to that of the bricks that line a glass furnace. If you try to get to those temperatures without a special furnace, your furnace will melt. $\endgroup$
    – niels nielsen
    Apr 26, 2020 at 22:25
  • $\begingroup$ There, finally, that solved my problem. $\endgroup$
    – Timothy
    Apr 27, 2020 at 3:28

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