The Difference Between Acrylic and Glass

1. The Difference Between Materials

(1) Acrylic, also known as plexiglass (Polymethyl methacrylate), abbreviated as PMMA, chemically called polymethyl methacrylate, is a high molecular polymer extracted from petroleum. Acrylic has many properties similar to glass, but acrylic has stronger impact resistance and stability.

(2) Glass is fired from a large amount of silicate, the main component is silicon dioxide, which belongs to inorganic glass.

2. The Difference in Performance

(1) The transparency of acrylic is as high as 97 percent , and its impact resistance is 17 times that of glass. It is not easy to break, but its weight is only half of that of glass. It has good coloring performance and can be made into colored acrylic by adding pigments.

(2) The transparency of the glass is comparable to that of acrylic, the hardness is higher than that of acrylic, and the scratch resistance is good; but it is easy to break, the impact resistance of ordinary glass is poor, and sharp fragments are easy to hurt people, but it can be processed and produced by special treatment. It can be made into a tempered glass and heat-resistant glass; if you need to make colored glass, you need to add a specific color of an inorganic salt or metal oxide in the production process, such as adding manganese dioxide (MnO₂) to turn purple, adding gold chloride (AuCl₃) turns red, etc.

3. Differences in Functional Applications

(1) Due to its superior impact resistance, acrylic is light, resistant to falling and not easy to break, so it is more used in furniture decoration, outdoor advertising, noise barriers, lighting covers, etc.

(2) Although glass is easy to break, it is better than the acrylic in both hardness and aesthetics, and glass has more special properties than acrylic, such as refractory beakers used in chemical experiments, buses and high-rise buildings. Tempered glass, etc.

Therefore, no matter it is material, performance or application, we cannot confuse acrylic with glass. Acrylic is essentially plastic and belongs to organic matter; the main component of glass is oxide, which is an inorganic non-metallic material. Both have their advantages and should not be confused.