![Translucent Glass](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Translucent_Glass.jpg)
Frosted glass is produced by the
sandblasting
Sandblasting, sometimes known as abrasive blasting, is the operation of forcibly propelling a stream of abrasive material against a surface under high pressure to smooth a rough surface, roughen a smooth surface, shape a surface or remove su ...
or acid
etching
Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types ...
of clear sheet
glass
Glass is a non-crystalline, often transparent, amorphous solid that has widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in, for example, window panes, tableware, and optics. Glass is most often formed by rapid cooling (quenching) of ...
. This creates a pitted surface on one side of the glass pane and has the effect of rendering the glass
translucent
In the field of optics, transparency (also called pellucidity or diaphaneity) is the physical property of allowing light to pass through the material without appreciable scattering of light. On a macroscopic scale (one in which the dimensions ...
by
scattering the light which passes through, thus
blurring images while still transmitting light. It has 10-20% Opacity.
Applications:
* To achieve visual privacy while still allowing light to pass through.
* Decorative patterns may be created on plain glass by using wax or other inhibitors to retain
transparent
Transparency, transparence or transparent most often refer to:
* Transparency (optics), the physical property of allowing the transmission of light through a material
They may also refer to:
Literal uses
* Transparency (photography), a still, ...
areas.
* To distribute light uniformly in a photographic
contact printer A contact copier (also known as contact printer), is a device used to copy an image by illuminating a film negative with the image in direct contact with a photosensitive surface (film, paper, plate, etc.). The more common processes are negative, w ...
.
* To create an airtight seal in tubes.
The frosted glass effect can also be achieved by the application of vinyl film, used as a sort of stencil on the glass surface. "Photo-resist", or photo-resistant film is also available, which can be produced to mask off the area surrounding a decorative design, or logo on the glass surface. A similar effect may also be accomplished with the use of canned frosted glass sprays.
Recycling issue
Frosted glass is not suitable for recycling through glass bins.
See also
*
Ground glass
Ground glass is glass whose surface has been ground to produce a flat but rough (matte) finish, in which the glass is in small sharp fragments.
Ground glass surfaces have many applications, ranging from ornamentation on windows and table glassw ...
*
Ground glass joint
Ground glass joints are used in laboratories to quickly and easily fit leak-tight apparatus together from interchangeable commonly available parts. For example, a round bottom flask, Liebig condenser, and oil bubbler with ground glass joints may ...
References
Glass coating and surface modification
Glass types
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