In the past cars used various safety methods for their glass, but the most modern solution is tempered glass. Tempered glass is used in car windows, though not the windshield. Windshields are made of laminated glass. That is two panes of glass sandwiched around a sheet of plastic to hold them together and keep shard from flying when it breaks. This is why your windshield can bend when it is broken. The good news is that if you need to replace tempered glass windows, you can get cheap auto glass in Chicago easily. So, why do cars use tempered glass?
Safety First
What do you want in a car window? Probably something that is going to be hard to break, keep out the sun, and provide a little bit of insulation for noise and temperature. Well, automakers want all of this too, but they also want to make sure you are safe if a window breaks.
So, how does tempered glass keep you safe if it breaks? Think about how windows usually break in a house or other building. They come apart in large sections and can continue to fall apart after the initial damage is done. This means there is the potential for large, heavy pieces of glass to be falling and flying around. In a wreck, this can easily be fatal, so instead, they use tempered glass.
Retained Tension
Tempered glass retains a high level of tension from the tempering process. Basically, the inside of the glass is pulling on the outside. When undamaged this gives you an incredibly strong sheet of glass. When it breaks, however, all of the energy is released, and the tension is let go. This causes the entire window to shatter all at once. If you have ever seen a car window break, then you have seen this.
That is all well and good, but what does it do to keep you safe? You already know that un-tempered glass tends to break in large chunks, but how does tempered glass shattering help? Simple, it breaks the glass into much smaller, relatively harmless, pieces. These pieces can then just be vacuumed up.
If you are looking for cheap auto glass in Chicago, then call Frank’s Auto Glass. You can find out more on their website.
