May 15, 2020
9:01 a.m.
On Thu, May 14, 2020, 11:20 PM Stephen J. Turnbull
I can teach a child why a glass will break permanently when you hit it while a lake won’t by using the words “solid” and “liquid”.
Terrible example, since a glass is just a geologically slow liquid. ;-)
It isn't though. I used to believe the old urban legend about glass being a (very slow) liquid too. It makes for good "impress your friends" chatter at a certain point. But it's not true, glass is an amorphous solid, and old windows are thicker at the bottom because they hung them that way. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fact-fiction-glass-liquid/