Dichroic glass. How it looks and where it is used

In recent years, no art exhibition in the section of glassware or jewelry from gold and silver can not do without works of art and jewelry masterpieces, in the creation of which the masters used dichroic glass. In this combination of words there is something magical, as in the material itself. The names of the most ancient material and modern, progressive technology are combined together. Dichroic glass - what is it? By what means did man manage to achieve such truly natural uniqueness of man-made material? We will try to answer these questions.

The magic of glass

The first vases, bowls, jugs and other glassware were more expensive than gold. The historical roots of this material are to be found in ancient Rome. The art of mosaic masters, glass carvers, glass blowers and ancient, and modern Italy surprises, fascinates and amazes. From the end of the fifteenth century, the secrets of Venetian glassmakers fall into the countries of Europe. English, Spanish, Czech, German, French masters tried to reach the level of teachers from the island of Murano in the cleanliness of glass and technology. Successes were, but nobody could surpass the Venetians. Dichroic glass is already a modern product of the latest achievements in the production of ancient materials. High-tech, but this is not devoid of romance in case of falling into the hands of real artists.

Two colors in nature

Dichroic surfaces can change color. Their prototypes were also obtained by masters of the era of the Venetian glass renaissance. In general, "dichroism" is an optical phenomenon. A literal translation of the term from the Greek language: "di" - two and "chrome" - color, i.e. "two colors". There are substances and materials that can reflect waves of the same length, and let the other pass. Outwardly it looks like overflow, flicker when viewing them from different angles of view. Everyone saw how the cat's eyes glowed, how the feathers on the tail of the peacock and the wings of the large May beetles shimmered in blue or green. A classic example of dichroism is the color of the tropical butterfly Margot. It is called a piece of heaven on earth - this is her unusually deep blue color. And the amazing thing is that the wings themselves are colorless. Change in color is not due to pigmentation, but due to the optical properties of nanofiltrations of different shapes in the smallest hairs that cover the surface of the wings of the beauty. These same properties of the finest layers of calcium carbonate, covering the pearl, make it pearl. Nature gives many examples. Human genius and technological progress made it possible to create an artificial material with similar properties.

For what, from what

Initially, the customer of the unique nanocoating for optical glass was the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Dichroic filters, prisms, mirrors are widely used in the military and aerospace industries. These filters work as specialized mirrors, reflecting the light of the spectrum that is not of interest. The thickness of the multilayer coating on them is no more than the wavelength of light. The layers of nanofilms of oxides or nitrides of precious and semiprecious metals are produced. Use compounds of aluminum, chromium, silicon, zirconium, magnesium, titanium, gold, silver. Each sputtering is unique and unrepeatable. This is what prompted people of peaceful creative professions - artists, designers, decorators, jewelers - to use the opportunities of this unique material in all their works. The greatest distribution was received by making souvenirs from dichroic glass and exquisite jewelry. Materials and especially work on the spraying of dichroic is very expensive, therefore the price of art products corresponds to the costs.

Dichroic spraying

The technology of dichroic layer application is unique. The principle is similar to that of a plasma monitor. In the chamber of a special installation, reminiscent of the hadronic collider, heated to two hundred degrees, creates a vacuum. In such conditions, a plasma appears on the surface of the metallic compounds. Electron guns knock out electrons from it, which settle on the glass surface. The coating is obtained by fusing it into glass at the atomic level and therefore very durable. In this way, using various compounds of the above metals, it was possible to obtain several hundred shades of light filters. To further increase the variety, the use of glass of different colors as the basis for spraying the glass has been used.

Why Glass

Glass as a basis is not chosen randomly. This is an amorphous transparent material. Glass mass cools quickly, not having time to crystallize. The main component for the production of glass is silicon dioxide. The technology of production and various additives determine such characteristics as impact resistance, hardening, heat resistance, resistance to water and chemicals, and so on. For the deposition of dichroic sputtering, solid borosilicate glass having a high melting point is used. The result of color, glow, iridescence depends on the properties of glass, the combination of metal oxides, the thickness and the number of nanolayers of sputtering.

Opportunities for fantasy

Masters of fusing and lampwork have long appreciated the dignity of man-made material, not inferior in beauty to precious and rare stones. Create a dichroic glass with your own hands without special equipment is impossible. Now this should not be done. In specialized markets, there is a wide range of dichroics in the form of whole sheets or less expensive scrap. To create souvenirs, mosaics from different glass, you need to take into account their compatibility with the thermal expansion coefficient. This technological indicator of glass must be specified by the manufacturer. It is important that the ESR is the same for different components, so that the work of pieces and inclusions during cooling does not break up and does not crack. For masters, jewelry makers with their own hands, online stores offer dichroic glass in the form of beads and cabochons. Dichroic beads are oval, round, oblong. Cabochons - in the form of different sizes of geometric shapes, drops, stars and different bizarre shapes. In all this variety of forms, an even wider variety of content has frozen.