Does glass decompose?

Question

I just finished watching "Life After People" on The History Channel. It stated that if man were to leave the planet, after about 10,000 years everything would be decomposed and theoretically there would be no trace of man left on earth.

All steel would rust away and concrete would break down because no one will be taking care of it.

But what about all the glass left behind? It never said anything about that. Not to mention the plastics either.

Any thougths on this?

Answer 1

No, glass does not decompose, but it does get eroded, if it is exposed to the air or to water. Glass can last indefinitely- it's like rock. No - one has proved otherwise. Plastics would rot though- within tens of thousands of years. People often think that plastics won't rot, but have you ever re-used a plasrtic bag? they do wear down with use! Unfortunately, only the part of the bag where direct pressure is applies will break down i.e. the bottom.

Answer 2

I saw the program and had the same thoughts myself about certain materials.And I agree that most man-made things would be gone after 10,000 years.However I think that glass,given the right conditions, could definitely survive for that amount of time and much longer.

  I also think that certain kinds of metal could survive too.again given the right conditions.

Answer 3

Never ,it will be here billions of years later ,but it can be worn down by the elements such as wind and rain ,after a very long time

or if it is in a river and gets moved about .like pebbles are made

Answer 4

Glass is made from melted silica (Sand) and as such will not decompose. What would happen over time is that it would be eroded by by either mechanical, Thermal or Chemical action.

Answer 5

Inch and a half thick glass has been found in the Sahara desert.  In the central western part.  From an exploding asteroid some thousands of years ago.  It is on the surface of the desert.  Wind and erosion have not gotten rid of it yet.

Answer 6

it would take millions of years to decompose glass

Answer 7

No trace?  That's just silly.

We have plenty of stuff that we have found from the few (compared to now) people who were here 10,000 years ago.

They'd find all kinds of stuff some of which would still work and they'd find it EVERYWHERE.

P.S.  Glass ain't no liquid.  That's an old myth.

Answer 8

everything decomposes

Answer 9

The glass would just be broken into smaller and smaller pieces over time through erosion and return to sand ( glass is molten sand formed into sheets ).

It would not change chemical structure like the classic reference to decomposition would imply.

Plastics would eventually break down as they became embrittled from different chemicals leaching out of the plastic and would also break down faster if exposed to U.V. light, but they would last quite a long time.

Answer 10

yes glass and plastics do decompose... they just take a long time to do so

Answer 11

glass would become like sand , again, as it's made out of sand... Glass do not decompose, erosion would take care of it .....did you knew that glass is in fact a liquid ?  when we measure the large plate glass of an old medieval door,  the door is much thicker at the base than the top..

Answer 12

I think it would decompose in 10,000 years.