Kitchen furniture, show-windows and even lenses make of special light-transmitting material today – acrylic glass. It is used for glazing of planes, by creations of show-windows, price tags and even domes.
Acrylic glass – a hi-tech product of modern production. Other names of material: plexiglas, polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA).
History of acrylic glass
Acrylic glass is a universal and hi-tech product, in other words, the transparent thermoplastic plastic made of thermoplastic pitch, applied in many spheres of modern life.
For the first time acrylic glass was received in 1928 and carried the name Plexiglas. Need of creation of such essentially new product with good indicators of transparency appeared during the 20-30th years in view of active development of mechanical engineering and aircraft. Increase in speed demanded ensuring safe flight in the closed cabin of the plane, and cast glasses even if knee, could not sustain resistance force loading any more, the danger was constituted also by birds who, crashing into glass, just split up it for small parts.
Today plexiglas is received in two ways – extrusion and casting. Casting gives distortion of a light stream, and extrusion – shrinkage.
Advantages of acrylic glass
Acrylic glass has a number of advantages, for example: - high transparency (92% which keeps the color and does not change eventually), - lack of splinters at blow (durability of plexiglas is 5 times higher, than at simple glass), - water resistance, - ease of material (plexiglas is much lighter, almost by 2.5 times, in comparison with usual glass), - the high capacity of ultraviolet rays which is about 73%. Also PMMA – an eco-friendly product which does not emit toxic fumes at decomposition and is easily utilized, besides it easily gives in to deformation that allows to give to future product any form. All this does plexiglas reliable and safe. Acrylic materials are very resistant to UV rays therefore they do not burn out and are not deformed, actively apply them in construction to carrying out roofing works. The acrylic stone (liquid glass with polymeric components) is very resistant to mechanical damages, it is applied to production of kitchen sinks and table-tops, but there is a shortcoming - strongly absorbs dyes. However, despite all advantages, acrylic glass, as well as at any other material, has some shortcomings, for example: sensitivity to superficial damages and possible emergence of microcracks and also a possibility of spontaneous ignition (temperature of ignition is 260os). Despite this, plexiglas is used practically in all spheres of modern life. It is simple to receive it and to process easily. Aquariums, interior details, advertizing indexes, lenses, points, plafonds, partitions, light letters, dance floors and even acrylic bathtubs – all this could not be created without unique, on the properties and characteristics, acrylic glass.