Safe Glass

Who invented safety glass?. Glass as a material has been used since early in the 20th century. The glass that we know as safety or laminated glass was actually discovered accidentally. The accident was caused by Edouard Benedictus, a French scientist in 1903, when he literally dropped a glass flask on the floor whilst at work in his laboratory. The flask he dropped had something called cellulose nitrate inside, which is a type of liquid plastic. London Glaziers are glass experts. This actually allowed the flask to more or less maintain its original shape once it impacted on the floor. In the early 1900s a chemist from Austria named Rudolf Seiden, invented tempered glass. In1905 Mr John Crew invented a type of safety glass which comprised of tree resin sandwiched between two layers of glass. In 1909, 6 years after the flask incident Edouard Benedictus actually patented ‘Triplex Glass’. This new safety glass was made stronger using a layer of polyvinyl butyral sandwiched between two layers of glass. This type of glass first had its real practical abilities tested during during World War I used as the lens for a gas mask. Once the performance of the new glass was proven under the extreme conditions of battle, it began its use in car windscreens. London Glazing can advise on safety glass. During the1960s the regulations for safety glass were developed which really motivated and formed the development of the safety glass industry. To make laminated safety glass today the manufacturer places a thin layer of flexible clear plastic film known as polyvinyl butyral (PVB) in between two or more sheets of glass. The plastic film grips the glass so when the glass breaks, it minimizes injury from flying glass shards. This film also stretches, but the glass still sticks to it. It is very difficult to pierce laminated safety glass, unlike a normal window pane. This sandwich arrangement provides some give. It is used widely for windows in public buildings, glass cookware, oven doors and safety glasses. This safety glass also helps to keep the occupants safe in a motor vehicle.