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Close-up of an old window with uneven glass and light passing through its surface.
Science & Space

Do old window panes get thicker at the bottom because glass flows?

Published

Verdict
False
Verification confidenceMedium

Explanation

No. The uneven thickness of old window panes is not evidence that glass has flowed downward over the centuries. Historical glassmaking produced sheets with variations in thickness.

Research described by Penn State examined the composition of medieval window glass and calculated flow far too slow to explain visible changes over that time. The Corning Museum of Glass also attributes uneven panes to how the sheets were made.

Glass has a disordered atomic structure and complex behaviour, but that does not mean a window noticeably drains toward its bottom. The important distinction is between extremely slow material changes and the visible irregularities already present when the glass was manufactured.

Key takeaway

Uneven old glass reflects its manufacture, not centuries of visible downward flow.

Evidence

Medieval glass calculations rule out visible flow over centuries

Penn State University

Contradicts the claim

Research using medieval window-glass composition found that flow remains far too slow to account for visibly thicker bottoms, even after revising earlier viscosity estimates.

Based on: Penn State University

Historical manufacturing explains uneven thickness

Corning Museum of Glass

Contradicts the claim

The museum explains that thickness variations in old stained-glass windows result from how the sheets were made, rather than glass flowing downward over time.

Based on: Corning Museum of Glass

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