The Influence of Iron Oxide on the Properties of Glass

JSGT_1928_V12_T031_T051

For the majority of glass manufacturers, iron oxide is something to be avoided. The green tinge which is imparted to glass by small amounts of the oxide must be covered by the use of decolourisers; and although decolourising can only be successfully achieved by the usual means when not more than 0·09% of the oxide (expressed as ferric oxide, Fe₂O₃) is present, even within this narrow range the presence of iron oxide and decolouriser reduces the light transmission of the glass and diminishes its brilliance. The absorption by glass of the ultra-violet rays appears to be influenced to a marked degree by the amount of iron oxide present, especially as ferric oxide, a fact which has carefully to be borne in mind during the course of manufacture of the new types of ultra-violet ray transmitting glass.

S. English, H. W. Howes, W. E. S. Turner & Francis Winks