Why Is Borosilicate Glass More Expensive Than Regular Glasses?

The main component of ordinary glass cup is silicon dioxide, which is an amorphous inorganic non-metallic material, which is generally made of a variety of inorganic minerals as the main raw materials, such as: quartz sand, borax, boric acid, barite, barium carbonate, limestone, often is, soda ash, etc., and a small amount of auxiliary raw materials are added.

High borosilicate glass is a kind of glass with enhanced fire resistance, on the basis of ordinary glass composition, 12.5~13.5% boron is added, in the manufacturing process, it is also necessary to add glaze water glass sand, soda and lime, its strain temperature can reach 520 °C, the strength is also higher.

Compared with ordinary glass, it has a lower coefficient of thermal expansion: (3.3 0.1)×10-6/K, only about 1/3 of ordinary glass. That is, the deformation is smaller after heating, so it is less likely to break after being heated and cold. Everyone should have this experience, in winter, directly pour boiling water into a thicker glass, and the cup will directly crack.

In addition, the anti-alkali, anti-acid and other properties are much stronger than ordinary glass. Of course, it does not mean that borosilicate glass will not break when heated, but it is not so easy to break compared to ordinary glass. Therefore, if you buy a borosilicate glass, you still need careful care.

In addition, the insulation tiles of the space shuttle are also coated with borosilicate glass, which shows how strong the borosilicate glass is.

It is precisely because the performance is stronger than ordinary glass in all aspects, so the price is higher.