Glass Brick

glass brick

[¦glas ′brik]

(materials)

A hollow block of translucent glass with patterns molded on the faces; used in partitions.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

glass block, glass brick

A hollow block of glass, usually translucent with textured faces; has relatively low thermal-insulation and low fire-resistance value; used in non-load-bearing walls.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Glass Brick

 

a building material with a sealed cavity manufactured by a forming process from a glass melt with a subsequent fusing of two sections. The different types of glass brick include light-diffusing and light-directing bricks, bricks of uncolored and colored glass, bricks of square and rectangular cross section, and corner glass bricks. Light-diffusing and light-directing effects are achieved by molding special patterns on the surface during forming. The dimensions of glass bricks range from 200 × 200 mm to 400 × 400 mm, with a thickness of 80–100 mm. Glass bricks are used in filling light openings in outer walls and in installing transparent roofs and partitions. They create soft lighting and have excellent decorative qualities; they are also fireproof and have good heat- and sound-insulating properties. The coefficient of transmission of glass bricks is 50–60 percent for uncolored glass and 35–40 percent for colored glass; the diffusion coefficient is 25–30 percent.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.