Fiberglass consists of very fine threads of glass, sometimes combined with other materials, loosely bunched together in woolly masses. Flexible and strong, fiberglass resists burning, and will not decay, stretch or fade. It is also an excellent insulator, as the minute spaces between the fibers trap air, preventing the flow of heat. Such properties make it desirable for weaving into cloth for curtains and tablecloths, for combining with plastics for automobiles, boat bodies and fishing rods, and for packing into woolly bulk form for air filters as well as insulation.
The ancient Egyptians used glass fibers, incorporating them into vases and containers as decorative trim by winding the glass around a core of glazed clay. But fiberglass manufacture on a large scale did not take place until the twentieth century. The first modern technique for making fiberglass was patented in 1836 by Dubus-Bonnel of France, who wove hot glass strands on a Jacquard-type loom. During World War I, the Germans, facing a shortage of asbestos, began manufacturing fiberglass as an excellent substitute insulator.
In the United States, The Owens Illinois Glass Company and the Corning Glass Works conducted experiments between 1931 and 1939 resulting in the development of successful commercial manufacture of fiberglass. In 1941, a flexible fiberglass cloth suitable for use as reinforcement in plastic laminates was developed. Owens Corning developed the first fiberglass-reinforced boat hull in 1944 for the Navy, followed two years later by the production of fiberglass-reinforced fishing rods, serving trays, and pleasure boats. In 1953, Owens Corning and General Motors announced the first production automobile made entirely of fiberglass-reinforced plastic, the Chevrolet Corvette. During the 1960s, fiberglass applications grew to include underground tanks and pipe, In 1975, the Pontiac Silverdome, with its 10-acre fiberglass fiber roof, opened. In 1990, fiberglass windows were introduced. By 1997, bullet-resistant fiberglass armor was being marketed for the construction industry.
Fiberglass is made of the same materials as regular glass—sand, soda, and lime--and can be produced by three methods. The first involves forming glass into marbles that are examined for impurities, then melted down; the liquified glass runs through tiny holes at the bottom of the furnace and is caught by a spinning drum that winds the strands on a bobbin while simultaneously pulling them into even finer fibers. One [frac58]-inch marble can yield up to 95 miles of fiberglass. Fiberglass yarns are then formed by twisting these very fine fibers together. The second process, the direct melt process, eliminates the use of marbles. In the third process, bulk fiberglass (fiberglass wool) is produced by melting the raw materials in a furnace and allowing the liquified glass to flow through tiny holes at the bottom; high-pressure steam jets catch the resulting strands and force them into fibers 8 to 15 inches (20 to 38 cm) long. The fibers are gathered on a conveyor belt into a white, woolly mass.
This is the complete article, containing 476 words
(approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page).
