Whenever I remember to, and I do so often enough, I try to see that the sheet of glass I am looking at, or through or am reflected in, is a liquid. And this fact still amazes me.

Later…

Well, it did until I put out the above an hour or so ago, whereupon I was contacted more or less immediately by a friend telling me that glass is in fact a viscous solid. (Actually, having checked this, I find out it’s an amorphous solid but who’s quibbling?) So, tomorrow, as I am sure to remember to, I will see any sheet of glass I am looking at, or through or am reflected in, as an amorphous solid. And I probably won’t be amazed by this.

The following morning… (the tomorrow I mentioned yesterday) I’m sent a link from another friend (see comments) with more information on the nature of glass. Here’s an extract from the page:

There is no clear answer to the question “Is glass solid or liquid?”. In terms of molecular dynamics and thermodynamics it is possible to justify various different views that it is a highly viscous liquid, an amorphous solid, or simply that glass is another state of matter that is neither liquid nor solid. The difference is semantic. In terms of its material properties we can do little better. There is no clear definition of the distinction between solids and highly viscous liquids. All such phases or states of matter are idealisations of real material properties. Nevertheless, from a more common sense point of view, glass should be considered a solid since it is rigid according to everyday experience. The use of the term “supercooled liquid” to describe glass still persists, but is considered by many to be an unfortunate misnomer that should be avoided…

http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/General/Glass/glass.html

So now, the day after the tomorrow I mentioned a couple of days ago, as I am sure to remember to, I will see (and have seen) any sheet of glass I am looking at, or through or am reflected in, as emblematic of an ongoing discussion on borderline states of matter, and it will remind me to avoid bad and rushed attempts at poetry.

(But it still knocks me out that so many of the things we perceive are seen through something else, and that includes windows, screens, camera lenses and our own eyeballs)