mini project: bending glass

PHOTO CREDIT: THERESA ANSELMO

i bent glass today! as u can see in the picture, it was a little bend around the end. the steps to bending glass are:

1. REMEMBER TO WEAR GOGGLES!
   
2. use a nail file to cut the glass.
3. when you create a sort of deep white line, face that side down and snap it with your nails.
4. hold the glass with the crucible tongs and hold it above the flame.
5. use another pair of crucible tongs to start shaping it when it gets hot enough.
6. the glass is going to be very hot, so set it aside for a while before touching it.
   

Science
glass at STP (standard temperature and pressure) is actually a liquid. therefore it is bendable and flexible. different glasses have different boiling points."Pure silica (SiO₂) has a "glass melting point"— at a viscosity of 10 Pa·s (100 P)— of over 2300 °C (4200 °F)"-Wikipedia.
when bending glass, you have to bend it slowly because glass is easy to break; it's brittle.