What is fiberglass?
Q: What is fiberglass?
A: Fiberglass is material made from extremely fine fibers of glass that is used as a reinforcing material for many polymer products.
Q: What are the proper names for the composite material produced by fiberglass?
A: The proper names for the composite material produced by fiberglass are fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) or glass-reinforced plastic (GRP).
Q: Why was mass manufacture of fiberglass only made possible later in history?
A: Mass manufacture of fiberglass was only made possible when finer tools for machines were produced.
Q: What was the first major use of fiberglass?
A: The first major use of fiberglass was in "glass wool" for insulation, starting in the 1930s.
Q: How is glass fiber formed?
A: Glass fiber is formed when silica-based or other formulation glass is extruded into many fibers with small diameters that are suitable for textile processing.
Q: How is the structure of glass in its soft stage similar to its properties when spun into fiber?
A: The properties of the structure of glass in its soft stage are very much like its properties when spun into fiber because glass is unlike other polymers in that, even as a fiber, it has little crystalline structure (see amorphous solid).
Q: Has experimentation with glass fibers been done throughout history?
A: Yes, glassmakers throughout history have experimented with glass fibers.
