For a variety of colored Pyrex tubes, check out the selection available through Macalaster Bicknell Company of New Jersey. We stock a variety of colored borosilicate glass tubing for your glass blowing and lampworking needs.

Hard Vs Soft Glass

The colored Pyrex tubes available through Macalaster Bicknell are made of borosilicate glass. The glass is forged from boron trioxide and silica, giving it a low coefficient of thermal expansion. Therefore, the tubes have a high resistance to thermal shock. This type of glass is considered “hard glass,” because it has a high melting point and shrinks slowly when cooling. Because there is a large window of opportunity to manipulate the glass, its’ considered to be more forgiving to work with.

Soda-lime and lead glass are considered soft glass because they have a low melting point. However, it doesn’t react well to sudden temperature fluctuations. It also expands and contracts a lot more than hard glass when it’s heated up and cooled back down. If soft glass isn’t kept at an even temperature when manipulating the glass, it’s more likely to crack.

Caution is encouraged when fusing glasses together that have differing coefficients of thermal expansion. During the cooling process, the mixed glass will succumb to increasing pressure as they cool at different paces and may crack or shatter.

Applications

Colored Pyrex tubes are often used to create artistic hollow wares like vases, vessels and containers. Solid colored glass rods are best for solid glass pieces like decorative paper weights, figurines and pendants.

However, colored Pyrex tubes can also be used to create scientific glassware. Borosilicate’s high resistance to thermal shock isn’t just a covetable property for lampworking. It’s also ideal for flasks, beakers and scientific apparatus that undergo repeated heating and cooling.

Although most laboratory glassware is clear, colored Pyrex tubes are used to create storage bottles tinted amber, blue or green. The colors protect light-sensitive chemical solutions from contamination from UV rays.

Regardless of application, Macalaster Bicknell Company of New Jersey has the colored Pyrex tubes you’re looking for. Contact us today to place your order!