What makes glass brittle? I am posting this because I don't have a good answer for it, although I can think of three reasons:
-
The disordered structure of glass. The problem with this explanation
is that silica is brittle in both ordered (quartz) and disordered (fused
silica) forms.
-
The covalent type of atomic bonds. The problem with this explanation is
that metallic glasses do not have covalent bonds, but are brittle.
-
Any material is brittle when the dissociation energy of its atomic
bonds is lower than the energy required for the slippage of potential
shear planes.
what do you think? Please share your response with me and other readers.