Is Glass Actually a Solid or a Liquid?

Glass is like a very, very slow-moving superhero, it’s almost solid, but not quite.

Glass starts as a liquid, like hot syrup. When you cool it down slowly, it doesn’t turn into a solid like ice does, instead, it becomes something in between. Imagine honey that’s been left out of the fridge for years: it still flows, but super, super slowly. That's what happens to glass over thousands of years.

Most of the time, glass acts just like a solid, it holds its shape, doesn’t flow, and you can sit on it without it squishing under your weight. Like how a table stays steady even when you put your toys on it.

But if you look really closely, maybe even with a special tool, you might see that glass is still very slightly moving, like the honey that’s been sitting for years. It’s not magic, just a very, very slow change. Glass is like a very, very slow-moving superhero, it’s almost solid, but not quite.

Glass starts as a liquid, like hot syrup. When you cool it down slowly, it doesn’t turn into a solid like ice does, instead, it becomes something in between. Imagine honey that’s been left out of the fridge for years: it still flows, but super, super slowly. That's what happens to glass over thousands of years.

Most of the time, glass acts just like a solid, it holds its shape, doesn’t flow, and you can sit on it without it squishing under your weight. Like how a table stays steady even when you put your toys on it.

But if you look really closely, maybe even with a special tool, you might see that glass is still very slightly moving, like the honey that’s been sitting for years. It’s not magic, just a very, very slow change.