1. Chemical resistance – resistant to chemical corrosion, making it perfectly suitable for laboratory experiments. But, the glass can react with sodium hydride upon heating to produce sodium borohydride, a common laboratory reducing agent.
2. Outstanding corrosion resistance
3. Smooth pore free surface
4. Transparency
5. Catalytic inertness.
6. No effect on taste and odour.
7. Physiological inertness.
8. Lower Density w.r.t. soda-lime glass
9. Electrical Characteristics- poor conductor of electricity but it varies with the quantity of water absorbed on glass surface. The specific conductivity is 10°ohm/cm at temperature of 200°C. The dielectric coefficient varies with current frequency.
10. Thermal Properties
11. Thermal Properties- Linear coefficient of thermal expansion
The coefficient of thermal expansion of borosilicate glass over the temperature 0 – 300°C is 3.3 x 10-6/°C. This is very low when compared with other glasses and metals. That is why, borosilicate glass is often called low expansion borosilicate glass.
Specific heat – between 25°C and 300°C is average to be 0.233Kcal/Kg, °C
Thermal Conductivity -1.0 Kcal/hr,m°C. Over the permissible operating tempera-ture range.
Annealing- process where the glass is heated and kept for a defined period of time to relive internal stresses. Careful cooling under controlled conditions is es-sential to ensure that no stresses are reintroduced by chilling/cooling.
Uses of borosilicate glass are wide ranging:
– Laboratory glassware
– Cookware
– lighting instruments
– Space Industry