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potters rule number 1/glass - ivor's mention

updated tue 26 oct 04

 

pdp1@EARTHLINK.NET on sun 24 oct 04


Hi Ivor,



...kinda like them 'mysterious' Lenses...?


Too, you may recall, some of the Ancients were said to
posess Glass which was more amenably viscous than now, or
that is, enjoyed more elastic properties...would bend
something like Lead or Tin, instead of crack or shatter...

Glass, I believe, is understood to be a hightly viscous
fluid...yes? Which in various forms, will bend at liesure,
but resents to be asked to do so in haste.


What conjecture as for such properties being discoverable
for one's Pots?


Phil
who is up at dawn for no reason...other than a couple hours
sleep seemed enough...(yawn-stretch, sigh, and imminent
Coffee!)...
in el ve



----- Original Message -----
From: "Ivor and Olive Lewis"

> The strange thing is that if we were to remove vacancies,
inclusions
> and
> grain boundaries from our product it could be transparent
as water.
> Best regards,Ivor Lewis.
> Redhill,
> S. Australia.

Ivor and Olive Lewis on mon 25 oct 04


Dear Phil,
I presume that was a response to my note about the nature of the
ceramic beast and the physical limitations which our materials impose
upon the work we do.
I used to introduce Microscopy to my General Science Students by
drawing down glass rod to about half mm gauge then snapping the
filament. The end of this was heated to melting. Surface tension,
which seems to be very strong in soda glass, would pull the liquid
into a small spheres. These were annealed, cut of with a small stem
then mounted on a card so that they sat in a punched hole. With a
focal length of about quarter of an inch they were surprisingly good
hand lenses even if the field of view was limited.
Never heard or read about the other things.
Best regards,
Ivor