Lead glass is potassium silicate glass which has been impregnated with lead oxide (from 12% to 28% by weight) in its fabrication. The lead is not intended to affect the glass's ability to transmit light; depending on what the end use is to be, the goal is either to allow the glass to transmit visible light but to block x-rays, or to increase the refractive index of the glass, and thus its lustre, or sparkle. Its ability to refract light more efficiently than standard glass makes it an excellent material for prisms, decorative windows, and artificial jewelry. Potassium silicate is a water-soluble silicate salt that is commonly used as an adhesive in welding rods. ... Glass can be made transparent and flat, or into other shapes and colours as shown in this ball from the Verrerie of Brehat in Brittany. ... Lead(II) oxide or litharge is a yellow oxide of lead of formula PbO, created by heating lead in air. ... The refractive index (or index of refraction) of a material is the factor by which the phase velocity of electromagnetic radiation is slowed in that material, relative to its velocity in a vacuum. ... Lustre (American English: luster) is a description of the way light interacts with the surface of a crystal, rock or mineral. ... If a shaft of light entering a prism is sufficiently small such that the coloured edges meet, a spectrum results In optics, a prism is a device used to refract light, reflect it or break it up (to disperse it) into its constituent spectral colours (colours of the rainbow). ... A window is an opening in an otherwise solid and opaque surface through which light and, sometimes, air can pass. ... Jewelry (the American spelling; spelled jewellery in Commonwealth English) consists of ornamental devices worn by persons, typically made with gems and precious metals. ...

Lead glass's primary contemporary use is in the construction of televisions and monitors. In a standard cathode ray tube, high-energy electrons are fired at phosphors painted on the inside of the tube. This impact creates the visible light the monitor or tv screen produces; it also produces X-rays. The lead in the glass acts as a barrier to this unwanted radiation. Unfortunately, the amount of lead glass finding its way into landfills as a result of discarded electronic equipment may be more of a hazard than the radiation it is designed to block. Lead glass has been used in aircraft used in testing nuclear weapons for this radiation blocking effect. Nineteen inch (48 cm) CRT computer monitor A computer display, monitor or screen is a computer peripheral device capable of showing characters and/or still or moving images generated by a computer and processed by a graphics card. ... Cathode ray tube employing electromagnetic focus and deflection Cutaway rendering of a color CRT Electron guns Electron beams Focusing coils Deflection coils Anode connection Mask for separating beams for red, green, and blue part of displayed image Phosphor layer with red, green, and blue zones Close-up of the phosphor... Properties The electron (also called negatron, commonly represented as e−) is a subatomic particle. ... A phosphor is a substance that can exhibit the phenomenon of fluorescence (glowing during absorption of radiation of another kind) or phosphorescence (sustained glowing without further stimulus). ... Prism splitting light Light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength that is visible to the eye (visible light) or, in a technical or scientific context, electromagnetic radiation of any wavelength. ... In the NATO phonetic alphabet, X-ray represents the letter X. An X-ray picture (radiograph) taken by Röntgen An X-ray is a form of electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength approximately in the range of 5 pm to 10 nanometers (corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 PHz... Radiation in physics is a process of emission of energy or particles. ... Landfill is a waste disposal site for the deposit of the waste onto or into land including: internal waste disposal sites (i. ... Hazard is a term used in evaluating safety: A hazard is a potential unwanted event. ... The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, 1945, rose some 18 km (11 mi) above the epicenter. ...

Cut lead glass, also known as lead crystal, is used in fine tableware, particularly wine glasses and decanters. It was unknown until a few decades ago that alcohol stored in a decanter was capable of leaching the lead from the glass and contaminating the contents.[1] While fine wine glasses are still made of lead glass, use of lead glass containers for storage longer than same-day serving of any sort of alcoholic beverages is discouraged. In addition, lead(II) acetate has a slightly sweet taste, which may lead people to believe that wine from a leaded container has an enhanced flavor. Lead crystal beads Lead crystal, (also called crystal), is lead glass that has been hand or machine cut with facets. ... Wine is an alcoholic beverage produced by the fermentation of fruit, typically grapes though a number of other fruits are also quite popular - such as plum, elderberry and blackcurrant. ... A decanter is a vessel used for holding the results of decantation where the liquid from another vessel is poured into the decanter and the liquid with sediment is left in the original vessel. ... In chemistry, an alcohol is any organic compound in which a hydroxyl group (-OH) is bound to a carbon atom of an alkyl or substituted alkyl group. ... Leaching is the process of extracting a substance from a solid by dissolving it in a liquid. ... Lead(II) acetate or Sugar of Lead was used as an artificial sweetener for wine in ancient times before lead was known to be toxic. ...

See also

• Steuben Crystal
• Waterford Crystal
• Swarovski
• List of indices of refraction