Page 38 - Curriculum Visions Dynamic Book

(Above) Glassmaking for scientific and decorative purposes developed greatly in the 19th century but relied on hand skills.
Science revolutionises glassmaking
Virtually all of these advances over the millennia had been made by trial and error, with virtually no understanding of the science of glass. But by the 18th century that began to change.
In 1830 Jean-Baptiste-André Dumas in France was able to analyse glass chemically and show that the best ratio for ingredients in soda lime glass were one part soda, one part lime, and six parts silica sand.
Improving ingredients
As much as anything, understanding the chemistry of glass allows its raw materials to be made reliably in a factory rather than having to deal with natural materials. For example, the development of a chemical process called
the solvay process produced huge quantities of soda ash (sodium carbonate) of consistent quality. Similarly, the formulas for colours were discovered, allowing them to be produced reliably as well. Lime could also be produced from kilns using limestone rather than from crushed seashells. Potash, too, could be made artificially.
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