Blowing Glass

Blowing Glass Have you ever touched glass?It's hard, right?Well, glass is hard most of the time. But, when glass gets very, very hot, it becomes soft. It can be blown up like a balloon to make bottles, jars and jugs. Glass is made by heating a mixture of sand and other things in a furnace for up to 24 hours. Then, a small bit of the hot glass is put on the end of a long metal pipe that looks like a straw.

Next, air is blown into the pipe. This makes an air bubble in the soft, hot glass at the end of the pipe. The glass blows up like a balloon! It's reheated and blown up more until it's the right shape. This process is called " blowing glass" . Once the glass cools down, it becomes hard. Then, you can touch it and use it. But even though glass is hard, you have to be careful. It can still break!