EDGAR DUTRA ZANOTTO

GLASS: THE EYES OF SCIENCES AND TECHNOLOGY

     LECTURE

     Since the scientific revolution in the 17th century, glass is known as the ‘eyes’ (microscopes and telescopes) of science and played a fundamental role in the everyday life as in artistic elements, household items and high technology. Nowadays, there are more than 400.000 inorganic, non-metallic, glass formulations registered, as well as many other organic and metallic formulations. This lecture will be addressing the proficience - activities and visibility - of the science of vitreous materials in Brazil since the first published paper in this area. It will address the modern definition of glass [The glassy state of matter: Its definition and ultimate fate,  J. Non-Crystalline Solids 471 (2017) 490-495] in order to clarify its real nature still mostly unknown by the scientific community.   

     Even though synthetic glasses were discovered about 6.000 years ago, new formulations and applications are still arising, such as the optical fibres and the fantastic Gorilla Glass used in smartphones. There are also other lesser known applications, as in glasses used in medicine and odontology, glasses that absorb heat, glasses for night vision, and for color blindness correction. Some curious questions like ‘Do cathedral glasses flow?’ will be answered. Finally, some researches opportunities about this wonderful material will be presented.