What is tempered glass?

Tempered glass is a specialized type of safety glass that has undergone a process of extreme heating and rapid cooling to increase its structural strength and thermal resistance. This process, known as tempering, creates internal stresses that cause the glass, when broken, to crumble into small, granular chunks instead of splintering into dangerous, jagged shards. Because of this safety feature, tempered glass is the standard for applications where human safety is a concern, such as in passenger vehicle windows, shower doors, architectural glass doors, and refrigerator trays. In terms of strength, tempered glass is approximately four to five times stronger than standard annealed glass. This makes it highly resistant to physical impact and wind loads. However, one key characteristic of tempered glass is that it must be cut to size and finished before the tempering process begins; once tempered, it cannot be cut or drilled without shattering the entire pane.