Glass Is Neither a Solid nor a Liquid
A close-up of stained glass in a medieval cathedral with light refracting through uneven panes
Glass is an amorphous solid — its molecules are disordered like a liquid but rigid like a solid. The myth that old cathedral windows are thicker at the bottom due to flowing is false; that was just medieval glassmaking technique.
Why It’s Interesting
It reveals that our neat categories of matter are oversimplifications. Glass exists in a strange in-between state that challenges fundamental assumptions taught in every chemistry class.
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