"Glass made transparent" guides the reader in eight chapters through the world of the great French glass artists Gallé, Daum and Schneider of the period 1890-1930. Esveld not only describes the beauty and artistry of their glass art but also reveals the technical side of their creations in great detail. This book helps to detect a genuine example from a falsification, a flawless piece from a damaged one and it trains the eye for any cut glass or combinations of pieces put together. It educates the reader to develop a feeling for the perfect style and shape, to learn to look sharply at the decoration, colour, finish and signature of its maker. It also points out all the applied tricks of the trade of the past and present day in order to deceive the unsuspecting buyer. Only the flawless pieces remain expensive and maintain their value. All the others bought at one's own risk, either at auctions or on e-bay are always paid over the top.

Flat glass opens up more possibilities for the planner than virtually any other material. Because of the technological complexity of using it, however, no specific structural forms have been developed for glass supporting frameworks as they have been for wood, concrete, and steel. This book is thus the first to present a coherent guide to the planning and design of glass supporting frameworks. The focus is on the pressure-resistant, flat supporting element as a basic building block for broad supporting structures. The spatial and constructive forms of multifunctional, self-supporting glass envelopes are vividly illustrated and systematically explained. The constructions presented exhibit new aesthetic qualities, based not on the dictum of "dematerialization" but on the poetry of gleaming and transparent planes. They ring in a new chapter in the history of glass architecture.

For too long, the Earth has been used to ground thought instead of bending it; such grounding leaves the planet as nothing but a stage for phenomenology, deconstruction, or other forms of anthropocentric philosophy. In far too much continental philosophy, the Earth is a cold, dead place enlivened only by human thought--either as a thing to be exploited, or as an object of nostalgia. Geophilosophy seeks instead to question the ground of thinking itself, the relation of the inorganic to the capacities and limits of thought. This book constructs an eclectic variant of geophilosophy through engagements with digging machines, nuclear waste, cyclones and volcanoes, giant worms, secret vessels, decay, subterranean cities, hell, demon souls, black suns, and xenoarcheaology, via continental theory (Nietzsche, Schelling, Deleuze, et alia) and various cultural objects such as horror films, videogames, and weird Lovecraftian fictions, with special attention to Speculative Realism and the work of Reza Negarestani. In a time where the earth as a whole is threatened by ecological collapse, On an Ungrounded Earth generates a perversely realist account of the earth as a dynamic engine materially invading and upsetting our attempts to reduce it to merely the ground beneath our feet.

A detailed account of various applications and uses of transparent ceramics and the future of the industry In Transparent Ceramics: Materials, Engineering, and Applications, readers will discover the necessary foundation for understanding transparent ceramics (TCs) and the technical and economic factors that determine the overall worth of TCs. This book provides readers with a thorough history of TCs, as well as a detailed account of the materials, engineering and applications of TC in its various forms; fabrication and characterization specifics are also described. With this book, researchers, engineers, and students find a definitive guide to past and present use cases, and a glimpse into the future of TC materials. The book covers a variety of TC topics, including: ● The methods employed for materials produced in a transparent state ● Detailed applications of TCs for use in lasers, IR domes, armor-windows, and various medical prosthetics ● A review of traditionally used transparent materials that highlights the benefits of TCs ● Theoretical science and engineering theories presented in correlation with learned data ● A look at past, present, and future use-cases of TCs This insightful guide to ceramics that can be fabricated into bulk transparent parts will serve as a must-read for professionals in the industry, as well as students looking to gain a more thorough understanding of the field.

Do open societies need transparent architecture? Does transparent architecture help make an open society? This book examines German culture's on-going relationship with Transparency, a relationship which culminates in the new Reichstag building.