Glass

Glass
Author: Alan Macfarlane
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 284
Release: 2002-10
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 9780226500287

Picture, if you can, a world without glass. There would be no microscopes or telescopes, no sciences of microbiology or astronomy. People with poor vision would grope in the shadows, and planes, cars, and even electricity probably wouldn't exist. Artists would draw without the benefit of three-dimensional perspective, and ships would still be steered by what stars navigators could see through the naked eye. In Glass: A World History, Alan Macfarlane and Gerry Martin tell the fascinating story of how glass has revolutionized the way we see ourselves and the world around us. Starting ten thousand years ago with its invention in the Near East, Macfarlane and Martin trace the history of glass and its uses from the ancient civilizations of India, China, and Rome through western Europe during the Renaissance, Enlightenment, and Industrial Revolution, and finally up to the present day. The authors argue that glass played a key role not just in transforming humanity's relationship with the natural world, but also in the divergent courses of Eastern and Western civilizations. While all the societies that used glass first focused on its beauty in jewelry and other ornaments, and some later made it into bottles and other containers, only western Europeans further developed the use of glass for precise optics, mirrors, and windows. These technological innovations in glass, in turn, provided the foundations for European domination of the world in the several centuries following the Scientific Revolution. Clear, compelling, and quite provocative, Glass is an amazing biography of an equally amazing subject, a subject that has been central to every aspect of human history, from art and science to technology and medicine.

Glass

Glass
Author: David Whitehouse
Publisher:
Total Pages: 127
Release: 2012
Genre: ANTIQUES & COLLECTIBLES
ISBN: 1588343243

"A concise history of glassmaking around the world, from Mesopotamia to the present day"--

How Glass Changed the World

How Glass Changed the World
Author: Seth C. Rasmussen
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 89
Release: 2012-02-23
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 3642281834

Glass production is thought to date to ~2500 BC and had found numerous uses by the height of the Roman Empire. Yet the modern view of glass-based chemical apparatus (beakers, flasks, stills, etc.) was quite limited due to a lack of glass durability under rapid temperature changes and chemical attack. This “brief” gives an overview of the history and chemistry of glass technology from its origins in antiquity to its dramatic expansion in the 13th century, concluding with its impact on society in general, particularly its effect on chemical practices.

A History of the World in 6 Glasses

A History of the World in 6 Glasses
Author: Tom Standage
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 322
Release: 2009-05-26
Genre: History
ISBN: 0802718590

New York Times Bestseller * Soon to be a TV series starring Dan Aykroyd “There aren't many books this entertaining that also provide a cogent crash course in ancient, classical and modern history.” -Los Angeles Times Beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea, and Coca-Cola: In Tom Standage's deft, innovative account of world history, these six beverages turn out to be much more than just ways to quench thirst. They also represent six eras that span the course of civilization-from the adoption of agriculture, to the birth of cities, to the advent of globalization. A History of the World in 6 Glasses tells the story of humanity from the Stone Age to the twenty-first century through each epoch's signature refreshment. As Standage persuasively argues, each drink is in fact a kind of technology, advancing culture and catalyzing the intricate interplay of different societies. After reading this enlightening book, you may never look at your favorite drink in quite the same way again.

Murano

Murano
Author: Gianfranco Toso
Publisher:
Total Pages: 196
Release: 2000
Genre: Antiques & Collectibles
ISBN:

Murano: A History of Glass discusses the origins of glass production, describing methods used by the Egyptians and the Romans. The earliest evidence of glass-making in Murano dates from the 7th to 8th century AD and this beautifully illustrated book trac

History Through the Opera Glass

History Through the Opera Glass
Author: George Jellinek
Publisher: Hal Leonard Corporation
Total Pages: 428
Release: 2000
Genre: Music
ISBN: 9780879102845

(Limelight). This first-of-its-kind, highly entertaining, and carefully researched account reveals how nearly 200 operas by leading composers and librettists have portrayed the major events and personalities of more than 2000 years of history. In a continuous and absorbing narrative, the book sweeps from Roman times to 1820, with a cast of characters that includes Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra, Attila, Charlemagne, Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, Catherine the Great, Napoleon and hundreds more. All are seen as the figures historians generally perceive them to have been and as their on-stage counterparts, created and re-imagined by some of opera's greatest artists.

History in a Glass

History in a Glass
Author: Ruth Reichl
Publisher: Random House Digital, Inc.
Total Pages: 378
Release: 2007
Genre: Wine and wine making
ISBN: 0679643125

The Age of Glass

The Age of Glass
Author: Stephen Eskilson
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 248
Release: 2018-02-08
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 1474278388

Glass has long transformed the architectural landscape. From the Crystal Palace through to the towering glass spires of today's cities, few architectural materials have held such immense symbolic resonance in the modern era. The Age of Glass explores the cultural and technological ascension of glass in modern and contemporary architecture. Showing how the use of glass is driven as much by changing cultural concerns as it is by developments in technology and style, it traces the richly interwoven material, symbolic, and ideological histories of glass to show how it has produced and dispersed meaning in architecture over the past two centuries. The book's chapters focus on key moments within the modern history of architecture, moments when glass came to the forefront of architectural thought, and which illustrate how glass has been used at different times to project different cultural ideas. A wide range of topics are explored – from the tension between expressionism and functionalism, to the persistent theme of glass and social class, to how glass has reflected political ideas from Nazism through to today's global consumer capitalism. The book also grapples with current arguments about sustainability, while, taking into account the advent of digital LED screens and 'smart glass', offering new cultural perspectives on the future and asking what glass architecture will signify in the digital age. Combining close readings of buildings with insights drawn from research, plus good storytelling and strong contemporary relevance, The Age of Glass offers a fascinating new perspective on modern architecture and culture.

Glass Throughout Time

Glass Throughout Time
Author: Rosa Barovier Mentasti
Publisher:
Total Pages: 296
Release: 2003
Genre: Art
ISBN:

This volume presents the history of glass shown through 400 works ranging from ancient times to the new technological applications. Rarities and masterpieces of glass art from important Italian and foreign, public and private collections of antique, modern and contemporary glass are shown.

Development History Of Ancient Chinese Glass Technology

Development History Of Ancient Chinese Glass Technology
Author:
Publisher: World Scientific
Total Pages: 818
Release: 2021-02-04
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9811229783

Worldwide research on ancient glass began in the early 20th century. A consensus has been reached in the community of Archaeology that the first manmade or synthetic glasses, based on archaeological findings, originated in the Middle East during the 5000-3000's BC. By contrast, the manufacturing technology of pottery and ceramics were well developed in ancient China. The earliest pottery and ceramics dates back to the Shang Dynasty - the Zhou Dynasty (1700 BC-770 BC), while the earliest ancient glass artifacts unearthed in China dates back to the Western Han Dynasty. Utilizing the state-of-the art analytical and spectroscopic methods, the recent findings demonstrate that China had already developed its own glassmaking technology at latest since 200 BC. There are two schools of viewpoint on the origin of ancient Chinese glass. The more common one believes that ancient Chinese glass originated from the import of glassmaking technology from the West as a result of Sino-West trade exchanges in the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-25 AD). The other scientifically demonstrates that homemade ancient Chinese glass with unique domestic formula containing both PbO and BaO were made as early as in the Pre-Qin Period or even the Warring States Period (770 BC-221 BC), known as Yousha or Faience.This English version of the previously published Chinese book entitled Development History of Ancient Chinese Glass Technology is for universities and research institutes where various research and educational activities of ancient glass and history are conducted. With 18 chapters, the scope of this book covers very detailed information on scientifically based findings of ancient Chinese glass development and imports and influence of foreign glass products as well as influence of the foreign glass manufacturing processes through the trade exchanges along the Silk Road(s).