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--- name: ? status: compiling version: 0.0.0 maintainer: Neo dependencies: [patience] ---
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--- name: Glass Fiber slug: glass-fiber type: material status: running version: 4.2.1 released: "1938-01-01" maintainer: Owens Corning (original fork), reality itself dependencies: - silica - heat (extreme) - boron trioxide - human patience license: MIT (Material Is Transparent) tags: - composite, insulation, optics, structural, ancient-dream-made-real ---
Sand, melted to submission and pulled into threads so thin they forget they were ever a rock.
The core trick is deceptively simple. You heat silica past the point where it has opinions, then force it through tiny holes called spinnerets. Physics does the rest: surface tension wants to sphere, the draw tension wants to thread, and the draw tension wins. What emerges is a fiber between 5 and 25 micrometers in diameter, which is to say, invisible until it is inside your skin.
The resulting strand is simultaneously:
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Tensile strength | 3,445 MPa | Better than it deserves to be |
| Thermal conductivity | Low | Good for insulation, bad for nothing |
| Electrical conductivity | Essentially zero | Glass remembers being glass |
| Optical clarity (pure grade) | High | See: fiber optic cable |
| Cost | Moderate | Cheaper than carbon fiber, more dignified than fiberglass batt |
fiber_type: E-glass # electrical grade, default
diameter_um: 10 # micrometers, adjust per application
binder: silane_coupling_agent
resin_compatibility:
- epoxy
- polyester
- vinyl_ester
surface_finish: sizing # prevents abrasion between filaments
Note: Switching to S-glass increases tensile strength by ~40% and price by considerably more. Budget accordingly.
Q: Is it the same as fiberglass? Fiberglass is a composite: glass fiber plus resin. Glass fiber is the fiber. Calling them the same is like calling flour bread.
Q: Can I machine it? Yes. Wear a respirator. The dust is not philosophical.
Q: Why not just use carbon fiber? You can, if you enjoy spending three to ten times more per kilogram for the privilege of also conducting electricity accidentally.