Boiled Glass L133

Boiling liquid is the action of bringing a liquid to the temperature at which it bubbles and turns to vapor. Boiling glass is the action of bringing layers of sheet glass and crushed glass frit to extremely high process temperatures. At these temperatures, pockets of air rise to the surface of the glass and simulate a boiling effect.

The process referred to as boiling glass radically exceeds the parameters of Bullseye’s tests for compatibility. Still, we know that people do it. So we decided to do a project that involves the so-called boiling of glass to provide some practical guidelines for success.

In this lesson you will learn how to set up glass so that it appears to have boiled. We’ll discuss which glasses are likely to perform the best, and how to do practical tests that predict the stability of glasses subjected to this process. We’ll also cover technical issues specific to boiling and explore some design opportunities it makes possible.