@whitequark look, that's just what happens if you talk about glass colorant chemistry in my presence. I have ruined perfectly good parties for less.
Notices by Matthew Sorensen (mattieumattieu@mstdn.social)
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Matthew Sorensen (mattieumattieu@mstdn.social)'s status on Tuesday, 09-Dec-2025 09:02:24 JST
Matthew Sorensen
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Matthew Sorensen (mattieumattieu@mstdn.social)'s status on Tuesday, 09-Dec-2025 08:49:32 JST
Matthew Sorensen
@whitequark @zwol UV light forms color centers in the glass! Manganese containing glass will go purple (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Solarized_vault_lights.jpg ) and cerium (added as a fining agent) containing glass will go an ugly brown. There's really no free lunch when it comes to glass chemistry...
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Matthew Sorensen (mattieumattieu@mstdn.social)'s status on Tuesday, 09-Dec-2025 08:47:08 JST
Matthew Sorensen
@zwol @whitequark Why? Because selenium gives a slight pink tint to glasses, which counteracts the weak green from iron you get when making glass with cheap sand. Cheaper than erbium, and doesn't solarize like manganese - so it's quite a practical decolorizer if you can control melt volatilization. Weyl's "A Chemical Approach to Glass" has a good section...
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Matthew Sorensen (mattieumattieu@mstdn.social)'s status on Thursday, 10-Jul-2025 15:34:24 JST
Matthew Sorensen
@whitequark ah, the byford dolphin approach
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