Glossary+of+Terms

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**Air side**
A term associated with window glass, properly known as float glass. During the manufacturing process of float glass, an invisible residue of tin is left on one side of the glass. The opposite of the tin side is the air side.

Annealing
A slow, temperature controlled cooling process that relieves stress in heated glass. If glass is not properly annealed, it is likely to break during the cooling phase or at a later date.

A term often used to describe colored glass or stained glass. Art glass usually contains at least two colors mixed together in the same sheet of glass. There are often as many as six different colors mixed together.

**Batch**
A term used to define the mixture of ingredients that produce a colored glass. The primary ingredients in stained glass are glass grade silica, soda ash, limestone, feldspar and fluorspar. Various colorants are added to the batch in smaller quantities.

**Bubble powder**
Part of the Float Fire 82 line of float compatible frits. This is a fine powder that is designed for creating bubbles within fused float glass projects when using the sandwich technique of fusing. Float Fire 82 bubble powder is available in 33 colors.

**Bubbles**
Also known as seeds, seeded or seedy glass in art glass manufacturing. These small seeds are introduced intentionally in most hand cast art glass manufacturing processes. There are many different ways to create the seeds but they are caused when small areas of gas are trapped in the glass.

**Came**
A thin strip, usually lead but may be other metals such as brass or zinc, that usually has a hollow section on one side (known as U came) or that has a hollow section on either side of the center of the strip (known as H came). When viewed in a cross section the came is shaped like a U or an H. Came is used to join pieces of art glass together or to form a border around an art glass piece.

Glass that is a single color and that is transparent, i.e. transparent red, blue, etc. Armstrong Glass makes more than 60 cathedral colors and textures.

**Casting**
A form of glass making that entails melting glass and pouring into a mold or melting glass in a mold to form a glass object.

Cobblestone is a unique texture developed by Armstrong Glass. It is similar to hammer-back glass, but with a lower profile. Cobblestone is reminiscent of old style glasses of an era gone by. It is very mild in texture, barely obscuring the light as it passes through. Cobblestone is frequently used in the United Kingdom in pubs and restaurants. It is available in more than 25 colors.

**C.O.E. (Coefficient of expansion)**
A number that indicates the rate of expansion, per degree of temperature increase, of glass as it is heated. COE is a term frequently used by fusers and glass casters because only glass with close to the same COE can be successfully fused together. If glasses with different COE’s are mixed, the glass is said to be incompatible and will not fuse properly. Float Fire 82™ from Armstrong Glass has a COE of 82 +/-3 which means that it is compatible for fusing to regular window glass, also known as float glass.

**Confetti**
Wafer thin pieces of irregularly shaped glass, usually smaller than 6mm in diameter that are used for creating designs in glass fusing. Float Fire 82 confetti is available in 33 colors and is compatible with float glass. Larger pieces are called Eggshells.

**Dichroic glass**
Glass that has been coated with multiple layers of oxides in a highly sophisticated process utilizing a vacuum chamber. Dichroic Glass is very unique in that it has both a transmitted color and a reflective color that is completely different. The colors will actually change depending on the angle from which the glass is viewed. [|**View the selection of dichroic glass**] now available.

**Eggshells**
Wafer thin pieces of irregularly shaped glass, usually larger than 6mm in diameter that are used for creating designs in glass fusing. Float Fire 82 Eggshells are available in 33 colors and are compatible with float glass. Smaller pieces are called Confetti.

**Flashed glass**
Glass that contains two layers of color. Float Fire 82™ has color on one side of the glass and the other side is clear, which makes it an ideal glass for sandblasting or for etching.

A full line of float compatible glass fusing products with a COE of 82 +/-3. They are compatible with float glass which is common window glass. The Float Fire 82™ line has over 40 colors of float compatible glass and 33 colors of float compatible frits.

The proper term for window glass. Float glass is manufactured by floating a bed of molten glass over a bed of molten tin. This process leaves an invisible tin film on the glass that is only relevant if you are fusing with float glass. A tin scope is necessary in order to determine the tin side of the float glass.

A broad term that refers to crushed or ground glass. Depending on the application, frit size may vary from small pea like particles to very finely ground powders. The Float Fire 82 line of float compatible frits vary in size from powder to #5 grain frits, as well as larger pieces known as confetti and Eggshells.

A process that involves heating pieces of glass and/or frits in a kiln until they reach a temperature at which they bond together into a single piece.

A texture created on the surface of glass by applying hot glue. After drying the glue contracts and chips the glass surface resulting in a pattern that resembles snowflakes or ferns.

A coarse grained irregular pattern that is designed to diffuse light.

A term used to denote the effect that is caused by spraying a specialized chemical application onto a sheet of molten glass. The chemicals cause a mother of pearl appearance or a type of rainbow effect on the surface of the glass that has been sprayed. The brilliance of the glass is affected by the degree of light that is transmitted through the sheet.

**Kiln**
A type of oven that is used for fusing or slumping glass.

**Kiln wash**
A powder that is mixed with water and applied to the kiln shelf with a brush to prevent glass from sticking to the shelf.

**Leaded glass**
Pieces of flat glass that have been assembled into a panel or window and are held together with lead came.

**Lehr**
The oven that is used for annealing sheet glass. The lehr looks like a long tunnel, often over 100 feet long and 10 to 12 feet wide, and contains several zones that are programmed to hold a specified temperature. The temperature decreases in each separate zone. Glass enters the lehr at the “hot end” and travels slowly on a conveyor as it gradually cools and the stress is relived from the glass. Depending on the thickness of the glass, the process may take from 45 minutes up to several hours.

Mirage is a texture developed by Armstrong Glass that has a rolling, wavy pattern and has the appearance of a shimmering, flat desert or calm, rippling water. It’s perfect for a water effect.

**Opal glass**
A term used for glass that is solid in white in color and is opaque. Opal glass will have little or no translucence and will not transmit light. Solid Opal is a term often used for other colors of opaque glass that are not white. Armstrong Glass makes more than 40 solid opal colors.

A term used for glass that is comprised of white as one of the colors and is mixed with one or more additional colors. As the percentage of white in the mix increases the translucence decreases. Opalescent glass is also referred to as wispy glass.

This classic texture combines the light diffusion of a Granite texture with the motion of undulating lines. An irregular, wavy line pattern makes this glass the optimal choice for pieces that require strong texture.

**Sagging**
See [|slumping].

**Sandblasting**
A process that entails using compressed air to blast various sizes of fine grained sand into glass. The purpose is to remove areas of glass from the piece that will either create a design on the surface or that will result in putting a dull finish or a matte finish on the glass.

Also known as seeded glass in art glass manufacturing. Small seeds or bubbles are introduced intentionally in most hand cast art glass manufacturing processes. There are many different ways to create the seeds but they are caused when small areas of gas are trapped in the glass. Seedy glass is often used in cabinet doors and windows when some distortion is desired.

A unique texture originally developed by Armstrong Glass for the lighting industry. The back of the glass is imprinted with small raised areas that create a subtle shadowed effect when exposed to light. The irregular clusters result in areas of varying densities. Shadowglass is available in more than 20 colors.

A process by which a piece of glass is placed into or on top of a mold and heated to a temperature high enough so that softening occurs. The glass is then said to slump or sag into the mold and assumes the shape of the mold.

The common name used to refer to colored or decorative flat glass. Stained glass is most often used in windows, panels, lamps and sun catchers. Many artisans use stained or colored glass in mosaic projects. Stained glass is actually a misnomer the glass is not actually stained but is created by using various oxides and coloring agents.

A term commonly used to refer to stained glass that contains two or more cathedral colors mixed together in the same sheet.

**Striking color**
A glass or frit that will actually change from one color to another when a specified temperature is reached. Several of the Float Fire 82 float compatible frits are striking colors. They appear to be white before they are fired and change color when the striking temperature is reached.

A very thin rod of colored glass, approximately 1.5mm in diameter that is used in fusing and hot glass work. Float Fire 82 stringers are available in 33 colors.

A sheet of hand cast or machine made glass that has had one side embossed with a texture. The textures that we offer are [|cobblestone], [|granite], [|mirage], [|ripple], and [|shadowglass]