BORON
B Boron is an essential plant nutrient. Whereas lack of boron results in boron deficiency disorder, high soil concentrations of boron may also be toxic to plants. As an ultratrace element, boron is necessary for the optimal health of rats and presumably other mammals, though its physiological role in animals is not yet fully understood. Boron is a trivalent metalloid element which occurs abundantly in the evaporite ores borax and ulexite.
Several allotropes of boron exist: amorphous boron is a brown powder and crystalline boron is black, extremely hard (about 9.5 on Mohs' scale), and a poor conductor at room temperature. Elemental boron is used as a dopant in the semiconductor industry, while boron compounds play important roles as light structural materials, insecticides and preservatives, and reagents for chemical synthesis. Boron Wiki
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Borosilicate Glass
Discovered in Jena by Jenaer Glaswerk Schott & Genossen
HAS Ties to CARL ZEIS in Jena! Otto Schott (1851 - 1935) is generally credited, however, with the invention of borosilicate glass, however. His father was a glassmaker in Witten, Westphalia, Germany. Otto studied science in university and wrote a thesis on glass. In 1884, Otto joined Carl Zeiss and Ernst Abbe in founding the "Schott & Associates Glass Technology Laboratory", which has evolved today into the world-wide Schott company. Sometime between 1887 and 1893, modern refined borosilicate glass emerged from Schott's research, and his company introduced it commercially in the summer of 1893. The focus at first was on optical products. (Zeiss had specialized in products such as microscopes.) History of Carl Zeiss Stiftung History of Pyrex mention Carl Zeiss and Otto Schott as its creator History of the Schott Company
Back to Zeis and Jena again with this topic. Boron is most commonly used for the production of heat resistant glass.
Nearly all boron ore extracted from the Earth is destined for refinement into boric acid and sodium tetraborate. In the United States, 70% of the boron is used for the production of glass and ceramics. Borosilicate glass, which is typically 12%-15% B2O3, 80% SiO2, and 2% Al2O3, has a low coefficient of thermal expansion giving it a good resistance to thermal shock. Duran and Pyrex are two major brand names for this glass. Borosilicate Glass Wiki