GLASS POLISHING

A review is presented of the past and present literature on the mechan ism of glass polishing including how the structure of a simple soda-si lica glass affects its ability to be polished by the breakdown of the surface during the polishing process. Optical glass is diamond tip gro und and then loose abrasive ground to achieve the correct form of the optic which induces surface and subsurface defects that have to be rem oved in the polishing stage. The combination of mechanical and chemica l reactions involved in achieving a polished glass surface are conside red. Finally, a mechanochemical model is presented as the mechanism of glass polishing.