Glass fiber (also spelled glass fibre) is a material consisting of numerous extremely fine fibers of glass.
Glassmakers throughout history have experimented with glass fibers, but mass manufacture of glass fiber was only made possible with the invention of finer machine tooling. In 1893, Edward Drummond Libbey exhibited a dress at the World's Columbian Exposition incorporating glass fibers with the diameter and texture of silk fibers. This was first worn by the popular stage actress of the time Georgia Cayvan. Glass fibres can also occur naturally, as Pele's hair.
Glass wool, which is commonly known as "fiberglass" today, however, was invented in 1938 by Russell Games Slayter of Owens-Corning as a material to be used as insulation. It is marketed under the trade name Fiberglas, which has become a genericized trademark.
Glass fiber is commonly used as an insulating material. It is also used as a reinforcing agent for many polymer products; to form a very strong and light fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composite material called glass-reinforced plastic (GRP), popularly known as "fiberglass". Glass fiber has roughly comparable properties to other fibers such as polymers and carbon fiber. Although not as strong or as rigid as carbon fiber, it is much cheaper and significantly less brittle.
Read more about Glass Fiber: Fiber Formation, Chemistry, Safety, Glass-reinforced Plastic, Uses, Role of Recycling in Glass Fiber Manufacturing
Famous quotes containing the words glass and/or fiber:
“We are little airy creatures,
All of different voice and features:
One of us in glass is set,
One of us you’ll find in jet,
T’other you may see in tin,
And the fourth a box within;
If the fifth you should pursue,
It can never fly from you.”
—Jonathan Swift (1667–1745)
“I taught school in the early days of my manhood and I think I know something about mothers. There is a thread of aspiration that runs strong in them. It is the fiber that has formed the most unselfish creatures who inhabit this earth. They want three things only; for their children to be fed, to be healthy, and to make the most of themselves.”
—Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908–1973)