Safety glass
Videos
Safety glass is glass with additional safety features that make it less likely to break, or less likely to pose a threat when broken. Common designs include toughened glass, laminated glass, and wire mesh glass. Toughened glass was invented in 1874 by Francois Barthelemy Alfred Royer de la Bastie. Wire mesh glass was invented in 1892 by Frank Shuman. Laminated glass was invented in 1903 by the French chemist Édouard Bénédictus (1878–1930).
Broken safety glass shows a characteristic circular "spider web" pattern
Broken tempered glass showing the shape of the granular chunks
Broken laminated safety glass, with the interlayer exposed at the top of the picture
Wire-mesh-reinforced glass in the Lloyd's Building
Architectural glass
Videos
Architectural glass is glass that is used as a building material. It is most typically used as transparent glazing material in the building envelope, including windows in the external walls. Glass is also used for internal partitions and as an architectural feature. When used in buildings, glass is often of a safety type, which include reinforced, toughened and laminated glasses.
A building in Canterbury, England, which displays its long history in different building styles and glazing of every century from the 16th to the 20th included.
The concentric arcs that distort some of these panes indicate they are crown glass, possibly of the 16th century.
The uneven surface of old glass is visible in the reflection on this window pane.
Figure rolled glass