Question

The use of flint glass is in:
A) Electrical bulbs
B) Optics
C) Bottles
D) Both (a) and (b) above

Answer 1

The term flint glass means there is no chemical composition present in it. The flint glass has a very high refractive index and a very low Abbe number. One can relate these terms with the types of glasses given in the option.

Complete step by step answer:

1. First of all let's learn what exactly is the concept of flint glass. The flint glass is a type of glass that has a very high refractive index and very low Abbe number value.
2. The refractive index of a material can be elaborated as the quantity which describes how the light travels through that material. As glass is a transparent material we can say that it has a very high refractive index value.
3. The Abbe number of a material can be defined as the measure of materials dispersion. The high refractive index value of material will result in too low Abbe number of that material. As glass disperses light very low that means it has a very low Abbe number.
4. The high refractive index value and low Abbe number value is applied only for the optical glass. Hence, the use of flint glass is in Optics.

Therefore, option B is the correct answer.

Note:
The flint glass is made up of potassium silicates and leads silicates. The flint glass was widely used in industries but the manufacture and disposal of flint glasses were causing a lot of pollution. In recent types of flint glasses, the lead oxides are replaced with titanium dioxide and zirconium dioxide without changing the optical properties of the glass.