The Varied Causes of Color in Glass

Abstract

ABSTRACTAll but two of the fifteen physical and chemical mechanisms which are necessary to explain all the varied causes of color apply in one way or another to glass. These fifteen causes of color derive from a variety of physical and chemical mechanisms and are summarized in five groups with concentration on those mechanisms that apply to glass and the related glazes and enamels. Vibrations and simple excitations explain the colors of incandescence (e.g. flames, hot glass), gas excitations (neon tube, aurora), and vibrations and rotations (blue ice, water, glasses based on water). Ligand field effect colors are seen in transition metal compounds (turquoise, chrome oxide green, glasses based on copper sulfate) and impurities (ruby, emerald, many doped glasses). Molecular orbitals explain the colors of organic compounds (indigo, chlorophyll, organic glasses) and charge transfer compounds (blue sapphire, lapis lazuli, “beer-bottle” brown and chromate glasses). Energy bands are involved in the colors of metals and alloys (gold, brass, glassy metals), of semiconductors (cadmium yellow, vermillion, chalcogenide glasses), doped semiconductors (blue and yellow diamond), and color centers (amethyst, topaz, irradiated glass). Geometrical and physical optics are involved in the colors derived from dispersive refraction (rainbow, green flash, glass prism spectrum), scattering (blue sky, blue eyes, red sunset, ruby gold and opal glasses), interference (soap bubbles, iridescent beetles, cracks in glasses, interference filters), and diffraction (the corona aureole, diffraction grating spectrum).