Page 54 - Curriculum Visions Dynamic Book

(Below and right) Fishing rods and kayak hulls are commonly made from glass fibre.
The first glass fibres were produced in the 1930s. They were like small glass rods, fairly inflexible, even though they were quite strong.
Although glass fibres have been made much more flexible thanks to modern manufacturing techniques, they are still rarely used alone. Instead, they are used as a reinforcement to other materials. Thus fibreglass, the material used to make boats, some car panels, fishing rods, and the backing for acrylic bathtubs, is actually a mixture of polyester and glass fibres set in a resin.
Glass is also used in places where resistance to heat is important.
(Left) Glass fibre matting is fire resistant.
(Right) Glass fibre
can be bulked up and used to trap air and
so make insulation matting in roof spaces. Its fire resistance makes it preferable in this situation to other kinds of fibre.
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