What a mirror consists of: mirror production technology.

Man has always been interested in his own reflection. Even in ancient times, people studied their appearance with interest, considering the reflection in the water. Over time, such an irreplaceable object was invented as a mirror. The reflection in the first such products was not very clear, because they were polished plates that were made of bronze, silver or copper. On the ruins of ancient cities, these items are found in platinum or tin, richly decorated with jewelry.

Mirror Production Technology

When people learned how to make glass, the technology for making mirrors also changed. In Rome, for example, metal plates were placed under colored glass. From the 13th century, they learned to fill a glass plate with molten tin. With this method, the image was greatly distorted, but still it existed until the XVI century.

REFERENCE! The first mirror manufacturers in the Middle Ages were glassblowers. It was they who invented technologies similar to modern ones.

In the XVI century, an alloy was invented - amalgam. She was covered with the underside of a glass sheet, which darkened the surface and allowed her to see a dark reflection. The substance was highly toxic, which made the work of producing mirrors dangerous. Workers engaged in production often died, and the objects themselves did not serve long. After some time, this technology had to be abandoned.

REFERENCE! Amalgam is a toxic alloy of tin and mercury. Even the couples they give off are deadly to humans.

Only in the 19th century was a safe cover invented. What did it consist of? A silver layer was applied to the glass plate, which was fixed with paint. This method made it possible to obtain a bright and clear reflection.

Outdated technology

There are several types of mirror production. According to old technology, mirrors were made in this way:

glass was cut into pieces of the right size;
the resulting workpieces were polished and ground, giving absolute smoothness;
applied technological holes for mounting handles and frames;
the blanks were washed with a special tool to remove even persistent dirt;
sprayed a layer of aluminum or titanium - sometimes other metals were also used;
a layer of varnish paint was applied on top.

This method is not much different from that invented in the 19th century. Production is low-cost, but allows the production of products only of small sizes.

Modern production of mirrors

Like the ancient one, a modern mirror consists of glass covered with a reflective layer from below. For the production of glass use:

soda;
dolomite;
quartz sand;
coal;
feldspar;
broken glass from recyclable materials.

All components are cleaned, melted and mixed in the right proportion. The finished glass plate is carefully polished to eliminate distortion. When the glass plate is ready, proceed to the production of the mirror:

uncut diamonds are cut on machines;
then follows bevelling, i.e. the correct processing of the edge of the glass - the bevel is steep and wide, depending on the desired type of mirror;
glass is well washed and degreased - for this it is steamed, brushed with chalk powder, dried, then wiped with alcohol or gasoline;
to obtain a reflective layer, a silver coating is applied;
the latest way is to apply aluminum in a vacuum under pressure - in a vacuum, where the glass is placed, aluminum evaporates and settles on it in an even layer, so the coating is more stable and of high quality;
then a coating is applied to the metal layer that protects it - usually a film of copper;
a layer of copper is covered with an opaque layer of varnish paint;
the finished product is enclosed in a frame or frame.