History Of Glass


	Historians agree that glass was probably invented in Egypt and Mesopotamia in about 2,500 BC. It was first used for decorative purposes and it is thought that the first glass objects for holding food appeared around 1,500 BC. The technique used in those days involved casting bowls, jugs and other recipients in sand or clay moulds.
	The first major innovation came with the invention of glass-blowing, which dates from the first century AD and started in Palestine and Syria.
	This technique involves forming a ball of molten glass at the end of a hollow rod, into which air is blown to give the glass the desired shape. This method spread all over the western world and was used until recently.
	In the 11th century Venice became the European capital for glass-making and in the 14th century the technique for producing panes of "flat" glass was invented in Normandy. In the 18th century glass-making was industrialized for the first time in a number of factories, some of which produced over a million bottles a year. Quantities nevertheless were limited because bottles were still hand-blown ! With the industrial revolution, in the 19th century, the glass industry made considerable progress. Coal replaced wood for heating the furnaces, which improved their performance.
	In the 20th century glass-making became a mass production industry, thanks to the use of continuous kilns and the progress made in automating production.
		This made huge production runs possible. Technological progress has continued all the way through the century, and was boosted some years ago by the arrival of computers.