Final answer:
Tempered glass is much more resistant to thermal stress and physical impacts compared to regular soda-lime-silica glass, making it stronger and more durable. Borosilicate glasses like Pyrex® have low coefficients of thermal expansion, reducing their susceptibility to thermal shock. Aluminosilicate glass also has excellent thermal resistance and durability.
Step-by-step explanation:
Tempered glass is much stronger and more durable than regular glass, such as soda-lime-silica glass. It undergoes a process of extreme heating followed by rapid cooling, which creates tension in the glass. This tension makes tempered glass highly resistant to thermal stress and physical impacts. In comparison, regular glass has a high thermal expansion and poor resistance to heat, making it less durable when exposed to temperature changes or physical forces.
When discussing types of glass, sodium borosilicate glasses like Pyrex® have low coefficients of thermal expansion, which means they are less affected by thermal stress and thus are less likely to crack from thermal shock. This property makes borosilicate glass ideal for cookware or laboratory equipment that undergoes rapid temperature changes. Furthermore, aluminosilicate glass, while harder to mold, offers excellent thermal resistance and is more durable than borosilicate compositions. Meanwhile, soda-lime-silica glass, commonly used for windows and tableware, is easy to form but is more susceptible to breaking due to its thermal properties.