A team from the University of Bath has discovered that the atomic structure of glass can be manipulated to create certain properties. The same team had recently discovered the atomic structure of glass, as it had previously been a mystery to science. The team found differences in the atomic structures that separate glasses into "strong" & "fragile", which are terms that refer to glass in its liquid state. They found that by applying pressure to "strong" glasses, the atomic structure will collapse in part, & turn the glass into a more "fragile" variety, which is easier to work in the liquid form. In industry, this is achieved by adding network modifiers to silica so the material becomes more fragile. Research leader, Prof P Salmon, said: "In time, we will design the properties of glass, instead of using the current cook & quench method."
