170227 History Talk 27th Feb 2017: The History of Natural and Manmade Glass

Date: Monday 27th February 2017 10:30

Location: Salón de Actos, Espai la Senieta, Moraira (next to the large free car park)

Subject: The History of Natural and Manmade Glass

Lecturer: John Hopwood

 

Glass is a naturally formed material due to volcanic activity, lightning strikes and meteorite impacts and has been used by man to make tools, jewellery and weapons for many thousands of years.

Since it was discovered how to manufacture glass it was first used as a simple decorative material, then to produce elegant containers and tableware and latterly has been developed into a highly sophisticated material utilised in construction, space exploration and in many areas of scientific and technological discovery, advancement and experimentation.

The lecture will endeavour to explain, in simple terms and with many illustrations, how the manufacture of glass has developed over the years since it was first accidentally produced by Phoenician traders on the beaches of north Syria.