Even such an ordinary thing as a plastic window has its own history, which can be entertaining. For example, did you know that the patent for the double-glazed unit, which is inserted into every window today, was issued back in 1865 in Germany?
Even then, its main function was to preserve heat in the room, the structures were called “heat packs”. Today, technologies have gone far ahead, but heat conservation is still the main function of a plastic window in general and a glass unit in particular..
At the moment, experts call energy-saving glass another mandatory part of a plastic window. According to all standards, they must be included in the package. However, the sputtered glass itself, which allows you to save heat, appeared completely by accident. In Japan, during scientific research aimed at protecting against radiation, scientists discovered that glasses coated with precious metals reflect heat..
Thanks to chance, “triplex” was also discovered, a three-layer durable glass that does not leave fragments when broken. Such glass is widely used in places where it can break and cause harm to a large number of people..
The French scientist Eduard Benedictus discovered the technology for the production of triplex, he accidentally dropped a glass flask with the remains of an ethereal-alcohol solution of cellulose nitrate. This solution froze on the walls and prevented the appearance of fragments, the flask was only covered with a network of small cracks. Based on this phenomenon, Benedictus subsequently created a combination of two glasses with a “layer” of solution, which was first used in the production of automotive glass. On an industrial scale, the first use of triplex was glass in soldier gas masks during the First World War.
If we talk about large volumes not of glass, but of PVC profiles for plastic windows, then the first company to master such a scale of production was the BASF concern. True, this chemical company was better known in our country thanks not to plastic windows, but to audio and video cassettes..
