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New twist on graffiti snares 29 businesses

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New twist on graffiti snares 29 businesses

New twist on graffiti snares 29 businesses

Last month, nearly 30 Berkeley, CA businesses were hit by graffiti of a very different kind. Usually, a spray can is a graffiti artist’s tool of choice. Two teenagers, who were eventually arrested, instead etched the glass windows of 29 businesses in the course of a single night.

Surveillance video captured the pair of vandals doing their worst to display windows along a several-block stretch of Solano Avenue. Police say the teens used an etching tool to inscribe the windows with graffiti, obscenities and the name “Felipe” which police say is most likely a “tag” for one of the teens.

The teens damaged the storefronts on the day before Thanksgiving, which caught may storeowners by surprise. The etched glass cannot be repaired. It must be replaced at a significant cost. Some of the damage may not be covered by insurance. Some policies specifically exclude damage to glass. In that case, the glass will need to be replaced out-of-pocket.

A witness to the graffiti spree called 911 at 2:16 AM, and police arrived in time to apprehend one of the vandals after a short chase. The other vandal was arrested a couple of hours later. The juveniles were released to the custody of their parents, but they now face felony vandalism charges as a result.

Repairing glass often involves replacing the damaged glass. Surface damage on glass is significant because it can ultimately lead to the failure of the glass. Glassprimer™ glass paint doesn’t repair glass, but it is specially modified to bond permanently to the surface of glass without weakening it.

Glassprimer™ glass paint can be used in both interior and exterior applications. It is a low-VOC compound and comes in both oil- and water-based formulations. Either preparation offers easy clean-up, and can be used safely indoors.

Glassprimer™ glass paint will not chip, fade or peel, even in direct sunlight. It’s exceptional UV resistance means that it can also block light waves that generate unwanted heat. If you would like more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Susan Sermoneta, via Flickr.com

Porous glass may help deliver medicine

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Porous glass may help deliver medicine

Porous glass may help deliver medicine

We live in an active age of drug discovery. Pharmaceutical research has led to the development of a high number of medicines to treat temporary and permanent conditions. The idea of “popping a pill” to cure a disease or relieve a condition is attractive, but the human body has built in systems to frustrate the delivery of drugs. One daunting environment is the human stomach. Stomach acids and other digestive juices often change or even destroy pills before their contents can be delivered. Enter the porous glass microsphere.

The small intestines are responsible for a great deal of nutritional absorption, but to get there, one must pass through the stomach, with all of its hideously destructive acids. One clever way to ensure that drugs make it into the small intestines intact is the time-honored “timed-release” delivery. Drugs are specially coated to survive the trip through the stomach. The coating breaks down eventually, but hopefully not before the cargo reaches its target.

But again – there is some variability in the way the stomach works. Digestion really isn’t time-dependent. The stomach can empty its contents into the small intestines much sooner or much later than expected. In either case, the drug doesn’t get delivered in the right amount. Either the time-release coating isn’t broken down or it broke down before reaching the small intestines.

Porous glass microspheres can help control the time-release of a drug. They can be created using several different materials, including bioactive glasses, ceramics, biopolymers and silicates. These structures have small cavities that can hold a precious pharmaceutical payload. When encapsulated in a glass microsphere, drugs can better survive the stomach, and offer a better time-release mechanism. This leads to a more reliable way to deliver drugs at the right time and in the right place. It can also protect drugs from naturally occurring substances in the GI tract that might bind with a drug and make it unavailable to the body.

One of the desirable characteristics of the glass microspheres is that they float! They can pass easily through the digestive tract and offer better timed-release performance. Glass microspheres won’t help with drugs that are likely to break down in acid, but they can assist in delivering timed-release drug therapies.

Photo Credit: Savannah River Site, via Flickr.com

Hotel Hubertus Glass Pool Rises To A New Space

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Hotel Hubertus's Glass Pool Takes Swimming To A New Space

Hotel Hubertus’s Glass Pool Takes Swimming To A New Space

If you’re a fan of swimming in glass bottomed pools, you’ll want to save your pennies for a trip to Italy. The newly renovated Hotel Hubertus is a skiing and hiking resort nestled in the Dolomites in Valdora Bozen. The hotel has been remodeled, redesigned and expanded.

Being in the mountains, the hotel is already nearly 5,000 feet above sea level, but that didn’t stop the designers from making the hotel’s pool even more attractive to those who like a view from above. The new pool combines the concept of an infinity pool with that of a cantilevered pool, to great effect. Swimmers get great views in all directions, including down, thanks to the glass-bottomed tank.

The new pool is more than 80 feet long, and 55 of those feed overhang the Dolomite cliffs. The pool is blended artfully into the surrounding terrain; its sides are faced with anthracite-colored stone. The “infinity” pool gives swimmers the impression that the pool water vanishes into the nothingness at the visible edge of the tank.

The pool appears to be supported by native larch trees. In reality, larch tree trunks were debarked and installed beneath the pool in an aesthetically pleasing pattern. Larch trees are also used extensively inside the renovated hotel’s common areas.

The renovation of the lodge included the addition of more than a dozen new suites, and takes every advantage of the surrounding environment, which happens to be a UNESCO-designated World Heritage Site. In addition to the cantilevered pool, the property has five other pools – both indoor and outdoor – that are open to guests. Skiing and golf courses are also locally available.

Glassprimer™ glass paint is a specialized glass coating that bonds permanently to glass surfaces. GlassPrimer also makes a glass surface molecular activator that is designed to work with UV-inkjet glass printing processes. For more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: NOA Network

Oregon calls glass dental sealants into question

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Oregon calls glass dental sealants into question

Oregon calls glass dental sealants into question

The State of Oregon isn’t sure about the value of glass in dental sealants. In the past couple of decades, dentists have taken a new approach to reducing tooth decay among children. Once a child’s permanent molars erupt, dentists seal the chewing surface of the tooth with a sealant, made either from an epoxy resin or newer glass ionomer material. The State of Oregon has determined that it prefers the epoxy resin, under the belief that glass ionomer sealants are inferior.

Initially, the strategy involved using epoxy resins, but newer glass ionomer sealants are also widely in use. States often provide dental care to dependent children who receive Medicaid services. Some dentists prefer glass ionomer sealants because they require a less precise application and tend to form better seals in some cases than the epoxy resins do. Epoxy resins must be applied to a dry surface – something that’s kind of hard to come by in a patient’s mouth!

Glass ionomer sealants also release fluoride, which can help build and protect enamel surfaces in the mouth. In addition to blocking access to spaces in the teeth that might be more prone to decay, glass-based sealants can also deliver fluoride to the surfaces of the teeth over time. Epoxy resins cannot be used to deliver fluoride. Glass ionomer sealants are also better at reaching deep fissures in tooth surfaces – the surfaces most likely to be impacted by decay.

Despite their advantages, glass ionomer sealants are permeable, which means that acids and other tooth-damaging bacteria could pass through the sealant. Studies have shown, however, that glass ionomer sealants produce similar decay-stopping results to epoxy resin sealants. The similar performance is thought to come from the glass sealant’s fluoride delivery – which strengthens tooth enamel and makes it more decay-resistant.

Some proponents of the glass ionomer sealants argue that the sealants work best during the years when they’re needed most. Younger children sometimes have difficulty achieving good oral hygiene. By sealing new teeth when they’re most vulnerable to decay, dentists can preserve teeth early, and then apply additional treatments when the patient is better prepared to take good care of their teeth.

Glassprimer™ glass paint is a specialized glass coating that bonds permanently to glass surfaces. GlassPrimer also makes a glass surface molecular activator that is designed to work with UV-inkjet glass printing processes. For more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Trinity Care Foundation, via Flickr.com

Iconic Glass Structures – Emporia Mall, Malmo Sweden

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If your conception of glass is a rigid plane that’s best reserved for windows, don’t go to the Emporia Mall in Malmo, Sweden. The mall, which was designed by Wingardhs, actually houses retail stores, a supermarket, office space and residential space. Emporia was built to appeal to commuters that need to reach a nearby train station.
And it’s a little weird.

Malmo is the third largest city in Sweden, so it’s already got a lot going on. Malmo is also an economic engine for southern Sweden, so it’s a busy port city. It takes a little work to catch people’s attention. And Emporia’s unique glass façade does just that.

Emporia is a huge project, and only a portion of it has been completed. The so-called “Amber Entrance” pays homage to Sweden’s historic amber deposits. The “Blue” entrance recalls the country’s relationship with the sea. The 1,000,000 square foot mall is a tubular steel structure with a glass “skin.” Each of the 804 glass panels on the exterior of the building is custom built and colored.

World-renowned glassmaker Cricursa built each of the building’s glass panels and bent them using high heat to give the building it’s unique outer appearance. The amber and blue themes continue inside the building, which makes liberal use of glass and color to attract and delight all visitors who enter the building. Lush greenery, high-lustre glass spaces and bright colors dominate and visually divide the building’s interior spaces.

The frame of the building was built in Spain and shipped to Sweden for assembly on site. The double-curved center entry to the building is unmistakeable and virtually unique among world architectures. The outer walls have a more regular appearance, which only lends to the visual appeal of the building.

Glassprimer™ glass paint is a specialized glass coating that bonds permanently to glass surfaces. GlassPrimer also makes a glass surface molecular activator that is designed to work with UV-inkjet glass printing processes. For more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .
Photo Credit: Maria Elkind, via Flickr.com

New stained glass window honors Queen Elizabeth

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New stained glass window honors Queen Elizabeth

New stained glass window honors Queen Elizabeth

Westminster Abbey has announced that painter David Hockney will create a new stained glass window to honor Queen Elizabeth II. The window will be unveiled in 2018 in time for the opening of the Abbey’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries, and will coincide with the 65th anniversary of Elizabeth II’s ascension to the throne.

Elizabeth II is England’s longest-reigning monarch. She was married at Westminster Abbey in 1947. The Abbey also hosted her coronation in 1953. Westminster Abbey, founded in 960, has been the traditional site of numerous life events among the members of England’s royal family, largely because the Abbey belongs to the monarchy. All coronations since 1066 have taken place there, and most English and British royals are buried at Westminster Abbey.

In 2011, Hockney, who is considered to be one of the premier contemporary British artists of the 20th century, was invited to paint a portrait of the Queen but turned down the opportunity. For the stained glass window, Hockney will supply the design, working closely with Westminster Abbey. The Abbey will oversee the production of the window once the design has been finalized.

Hockney works in a number of artistic media, including paint, photography and printmaking. He divides his time between London and Los Angeles, where he owns two residences. Early in his career, Hockney focused on portraiture. His later works include photographic collages and etchings.

The stained glass window will be installed in the Diamond Jubilee Galleries, which will be part of the museum complex at Westminster Abbey. This portion of the complex dates back to the church’s original foundation, and has been used as a museum for more than 100 years. The new galleries, which are currently under construction, will be elevated and will create significant new display space for artifacts held by the Abbey.

Glassprimer™ glass paint is a specialized glass coating that bonds permanently to glass surfaces. GlassPrimer also makes a glass surface molecular activator that is designed to work with UV-inkjet glass printing processes. For more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Defence Images, via Flickr.com

The story behind bulletproof glass

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The story behind bulletproof glass

The story behind bulletproof glass

What is bulletproof glass? Is it really glass? Is it really bulletproof? Bulletproof glass is a special material constructed from layers of laminated glass. Bulletproof glass comes in standard and customized thicknesses, ranging from 3/4th inch to 3½ inches. The thicker the finished product, the more protection it offers.

Laminated glass is used in a number of safety and security applications, where shattered glass would be very dangerous. In bulletproof glass, the glass layers tend to flatten a projectile, while the polycarbonate layers deform on impact, which diffuses the projectile’s energy and prevents it from traveling through the glass.

In addition, various alternative laminates can be combined with glass to give bulletproof glass different safety characteristics. For example, polycarbonate layers could be laminated between glass layers to improve the material’s ability to stop projectiles. Acrylic could also be used in alternating layers between glass to create a different level of stopping power.

Different firearms expel bullets at different velocities. The velocity of the projectile determines its penetration ability, so bulletproof glass is designed in various thicknesses to protect against specific types of firearms. The protection offered by the glass depends upon its construction. Glass designed to protect against handguns may not perform well against rifles. Bulletproof glass can also be designed to offer protection in one direction only. With “one-way” bulletproof glass, an attacker would not be able fire through the glass, but someone on the “safe” side of the glass could fire through it unimpeded.

Bulletproof glass is not only useful for situations where security is important. It can also perform well against catastrophic weather events like hurricanes. It is also exceptionally scratch resistant. One disadvantage of bulletproof glass is that it significantly reduces the transmission of visible light. In addition, over time, UV light exposure can damage the laminated layers of polycarbonate or acrylic. UV light damage can cause the intermediate layers to discolor or cloud, further reducing the transmission of visible light.

Glassprimer™ glass paint is a specialized glass coating that bonds permanently to glass surfaces. GlassPrimer also makes a glass surface molecular activator that is designed to work with UV-inkjet glass printing processes. For more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Pulpolux, via Flickr.com

Glass recyclers offer new insight

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Glass recyclers offer new insight

Glass recyclers offer new insight

The recyclability of glass isn’t in question, but glass generates plenty of questions about the best way to recycle it. From a materials perspective, glass is infinitely recyclable. Recycled glass is virtually identical to new glass, except that recycled glass takes less energy to make.

The science behind glass recycling isn’t a problem, but there aren’t many good answers to the economic questions about glass. What’s the best way to recycle glass? How much is recycled glass worth? What’s the best way to sort glass? What’s the best way to transport glass? Who’s going to buy recycled glass? If no one’s going to buy it, what else can glass be used for?

Many curbside recycling programs have eliminated or limit their glass acceptance, primarily because they can’t find markets for the collected glass. Glass needs to be sorted according to color, so for food containers that means separating and storing green, brown and clear glass. In addition, container glass is different than tempered glass, so those types of glass need to be kept separate.

Glass breaks, and handling broken glass is just as dangerous for the workers at the local materials recovery facility (MRF) as it is for the average homeowner. Glass usually isn’t pulverized until it reaches the recycler, which creates transportation and storage problems for the material collectors. It’s no wonder that a number of cities have stopped recycling glass.

A new Wisconsin study shows that it’s still “worth it” to recycle glass. Having said that, much of the savings is realized by the recycler while many of the problems are realized by the handlers. Because demand is so low for container glass right now, the returns on recycled glass are negligible.

Adding to the debate is a complex patchwork of laws related to recycling. Wisconsin, for example, prohibits container glass from being landfilled. That means municipalities and waste handlers need to separate glass from trash, even when there’s nowhere to put it and no one wants to buy it.

Recently, the Associated Recyclers of Wisconsin issued a report that examined the issue of glass recycling and attempted to find ways to make glass recycling easier and more profitable for everyone involved. The ARW report suggests that recyclers invest in new equipment designed to help sort and clean recyclable glass, under the assumption that clean glass is more attractive to potential purchasers than contaminated glass is. In addition, the report suggests that recyclers should create and adopt a standard for glass that it must meet when it leaves the MRF. The report also suggests exploring different re-use markets for container glass, including road construction, landfill cover and construction materials.

Glassprimer™ glass paint is a specialized glass coating that bonds permanently to glass surfaces. GlassPrimer also makes a glass surface molecular activator that is designed to work with UV-inkjet glass printing processes. For more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Roman Boed , via Flickr.com

Will the Glass Skyscraper Survive?

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Will the Glass Skyscraper Survive?

Will the Glass Skyscraper Survive?

Skyscrapers are a ubiquitous element of the urban landscape. They’re not going away any time soon, but they are evolving. While there are distinct advantages to clustering populations densely, there are also costs. This is evident in traditional skyscraper design. The emergence of new materials like glass has changed the way skyscrapers look, but a new movement is out to change the way the buildings impact their surroundings.

Architects often compete to design the tallest buildings. In major cities around the world there are no shortages of buildings that exceed 60, 70 or even 100 stories. Issues like energy consumption and sustainability are magnified in tall buildings, and they are beginning to change the way tall buildings are designed.

Glass is the current go-to material for “skinning” a tall building. It offers some obvious advantages, but it brings with it challenges that aren’t faced by less transparent architectural designs. Outside of safety, energy consumption is probably the number one concern of architects when proposing a new building. Building owners, cities and tenants are no longer just looking at the cost to build a tower. They want assurances that the cost of operating in the space is manageable, and that the space will be comfortable over the long haul.

Glass has the ability to trap heat. That might be a valuable quality, but heat also rises, so the top floors of a building may become unbearably hot without significant air conditioning. The power needed to cool spaces becomes a real concern because it not only makes the space more expensive to occupy, but it also (eventually) requires power companies to provide additional power generating capacity, or to buy power on the commodity market.

Building more power plants isn’t always an option, and power companies are feeling the pressure from governments to reduce carbon emissions, so that countries can comply with carbon emissions treaty agreements. In addition, developing countries are beginning to modernize their infrastructure. With that modernization comes an increase in consumption.

One effective way to reduce power consumption is to use specialized glass coatings to retain visible light while rejecting the light frequencies that promote solar heat gain. Glassprimer™ glass paint is a specially engineered paint that’s designed to bond permanently with glass surfaces. It offers exceptional UV protection and will not chip, fade or peel, even in direct sunlight. It can be used in both residential and commercial applications, and it is suitable for interior or exterior use.

For more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: DGriebeling, via Flickr.com

Metallic glass gears could be headed to space

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Metallic glass gears could be headed to space

Metallic glass gears could be headed to space

Aerospace engineers are looking at metallic glass as a potential material for gearing systems used in space. The material, which is made by melting metal, then cooling it rapidly, may prove to be useful in space vehicles, remote controlled equipment and robots.

Metallic glass is a manmade substance that relies on rapid cooling – on the order of 1,800 degrees Celsius per second – of metal to prevent the material from crystallizing at the atomic level. Ordinarily, solids have a crystalline structure, which is rigid and ordered. Glass, on the other hand, cools in such a way to prevent molecular crystallization. Instead, the material hardens without crystallizing. The molecules that make up glass order themselves randomly. In their liquid states, metallic glasses can be molded and shaped easily, the same way that glass can be blown or shaped.

Using metallic glass is interesting to scientists because the material retains the strength of metal, but can operate at extremely low temperatures and without the need for lubrication. The ability to work without lubrication is key. On Earth, lubrication is necessary to reduce friction and wear, but it will freeze and become ineffective at low temperatures. In space, power – which can be hard to come by – must be diverted from a device to heaters designed to keep the lubricants flowing. Preliminary testing showed that metallic glass could operate effectively at temperatures below minus 300° F without the need for lubricants.

Metallic glass also sidesteps another important problem: brittleness. At extremely low temperatures, metals tend to become brittle, which makes them vulnerable to breakage. Metallic glasses are not brittle at low temperatures, so gear teeth are less likely to be damaged in hostile environments.

Metallic glass also lends itself to mass production and rapid production techniques. Metallic glass can be blow molded or injection molded. Both of these techniques can rapidly produce parts, which can reduce the overall cost of making space vehicles. They can also lower costs for non-aerospace applications that can take advantage of metallic glass.

Glassprimer™ glass paint is a specialized glass coating that bonds permanently to glass surfaces. GlassPrimer also makes a glass surface molecular activator that is designed to work with UV-inkjet glass printing processes. For more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Alex Saunders, via Flickr.com