Clear polycarbonate plastic has an incredible level of impact resistance, but it is also just as clear as glass. It provides a margin of safety that no other clear glazing material on the market can surpass.
Substitutes for glass windows, greenhouses and even splashbacks. Plastic materials such as acrylic and polycarbonate are great alternatives. They are lighter and performance isn't affected as the materials are clear and transparent.
Plexiglass is a plastic material made from polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), typically manufactured into transparent sheets. It is also known as acrylic, acrylic glass, or perspex. Because it is a lightweight, strong material with long service life, Plexiglass can be used in various applications.
Acrylic plastic is a lightweight, shatter resistant, transparent plastic that is often used as an alternative to glass. Trademark names: Lucite, Plexiglas, Acrylite Common applications: Furniture.
Polycarbonate is 250x more potent than regular glass panels. As a result of these protective layers, intruders have a more difficult time trying to break in. Despite the appearance, polycarbonate is also more lightweight than glass. The quick installation makes polycarbonate a reliable safety procedure.
Polycarbonate. Polycarbonate sheets are the best option when it comes to impact strength. This all-purpose thermoplastic is around 200 times stronger than glass and and 10 times stronger than acrylic.
First, let's get this fact out of the way: there is no type of glass out there on the market that is truly unbreakable. However, there are two common window materials that are marketed as such: laminated windows and polycarbonate windows.
Quality polycarbonate plastic glasses that look like glass and feel like glass. Polycarbonate plastic is a versatile material which is temperature resistant, impact resistant, scratch resistant and highly transparent to visible light, often with better light transmission than many kinds of glass.
Acrylic (PMMA) is a transparent and rigid thermoplastic material widely used as a shatterproof replacement for glass.
Light weight –Plexiglass weighs 50% less than glass of equal thickness. This light weight makes it easier to hang, easier to transport, and is even easier on the wallet when it comes to shipping costs.
Clear Quartz – Also known as Rock Crystal, this colorless, transparent quartz is prized for its crystalline shape. Rock crystal is found in clusters and twinned forms.
Obsidian or volcanic glass, for example, is molten rock that has quickly cooled, becoming rock in a glassy state. Tektites and Libyan Desert Glass are other forms of glassy rock created by the intense heat and force of meteoritic impacts on the earth millions of years ago.
obsidian, igneous rock occurring as a natural glass formed by the rapid cooling of viscous lava from volcanoes.
Plastics are popular substitutes for glass, because they address many of its disadvantages. They're lightweight, durable and inexpensive. They're easy to obtain and don't require special tools or expertise to install.
Polycarbonate is a transparent thermoplastic sheet material often chosen for its advantages over glass and other materials because of its impact-resistance, flame-retardance, insulation, and flexibility.
Plexiglass is also as clear as glass, so looking through acrylic windows is the same as peering through more-fragile glass panes. Plexiglass windows are also easier to maintain (since they don't collect as much dirt), resistant to breakage, and are less likely to crack or stain in severe weather.
For starters, polycarbonate is crystal clear - just like glass - and so can be used as a glass replacement whenever a see-through material is desired. As we have already discussed, it has an incredibly resilient material and is typically 250 times stronger than glass.
Which is the strongest? Polycarbonate is the strongest of all clear plastic sheets. Both of these types of clear plastic sheets are very strong compared to glass. Even though it can be produced much thicker, acrylic is not as strong as polycarbonate.
Acrylic or Polymethyl Methacrylate (PMMA)
Acrylic is typically used in sheet form create products such as acrylic mirrors and acrylic plexiglass. The transparent plastic can be made colored and fluorescent, abrasion-resistant, bullet-resistant, UV-tolerant, non-glare, anti-static and many more.
The process of manufacturing glass-effect acrylic involves adding a little green dye to the resin before it is extruded on the production line. This has an indiscernible effect on the clarity of the plastic when viewed straight on, but gives it a glass-like tinge when viewed through the edge.
PMMA is also known as acrylic, acrylic glass, as well as by the trade names and brands Crylux, Hesalite, Plexiglas, Acrylite, Lucite, and Perspex, among several others (see below). This plastic is often used in sheet form as a lightweight or shatter-resistant alternative to glass.
Acrylic is an alternative to glass that is lighter and harder to break, though it is softer and more easily scratched (excluding anti-reflection acrylic).
In reality, bulletproof glass does not exist, and it's not always made of glass. Most bullet-resistant glass products are actually made of polycarbonate, acrylic, or glass-clad polycarbonate. The level of protection offered will depend on the material used, how it is manufactured, as well as its thickness.
Bullet resistant glass (commonly known as bulletproof glass) can be composed of several different materials, all offering a different level of protection. These levels of protection range from Level 1, which can sustain three 9mm bullets, all the way to Level 10 which can protect against a 50 BMG bullet.
Glass may be dissolved by acid. Only a few acids, primarily those containing fluorine, are corrosive enough to dissolve glass adequately. Hydrochloric acid does not react with the glass.