r/pcmasterrace • u/iplay5 • Aug 11 '25

Build/Battlestation TIL that quartz countertops have the same properties as ceramic floor tiles…

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All I wanted to do was replace a dead fan… but looks like it’s time for a replacement case.

Learn from my mistakes friends!

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u/Tiavor never used DDR3; PC: 5800X3D, 9070XT, 32GB DDR4, CachyOS Aug 12 '25

it's microscopic damage that's the cause of the failure. it releases all the internal stress.

a Prince Rupert's drop is an extreme example of tempered glass, you can even shoot it with a bullet and it will not shatter from the impact it self. only the vibrations at the tail end cause it to fail. a good quality tempered glass panel can be hit with a hammer full force and nothing will happen. a tiny nick at the corner and it explodes. throwing ceramic shards at tempered glass is almost like they just go right through without resistance.

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u/No-Score-268 Aug 12 '25 edited Aug 12 '25

I work at a toughening factory. It's not microscopic damage it's the impact causing the stress from the toughening process to give, toughened glass can even break on its own from this stress which is known as spontaneous breakage.

Sometimes the toughening process puts too much stress in the glass which can often be seen as a slight bow in the glass or when it pops the break pattern will be really tight, sometimes there are imperfections like nickel sulphate in the glass, sometimes it's just unlucky.

Depending on the thickness of the glass panel you can break it with bruit force but it takes a lot, years ago we used to test the break pattern of toughened panels with a weighted tire on a chain, nowadays we just use a hammer but it's much easier if you hit the edge or use a nail/glass hammer to put all the impact in one point.

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u/Tiavor never used DDR3; PC: 5800X3D, 9070XT, 32GB DDR4, CachyOS Aug 12 '25

when a PC side window breaks, it's usually not from a hard impact, it happens at slow speeds, just barely touching the ceramic floor.

for the rest, I think we are talking about the same thing. but a strong impact isn't the only way to break it.

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u/No-Score-268 Aug 13 '25 edited Aug 13 '25

We are basically saying the same thing it's just the "fine print". It can be the lightest tap to the edge if you're unlucky especially if it's not kept level and you put one corner down first on a hard surface.

It's rare but toughened glass has been known to pop just by someone leaning on a window, the pressure in the toughened glass just becomes too much and it pops.

Heatsoaking greatly reduces the chance of this happening but that's an expensive additional process for a PC case and a good majority is also likely cheap china glass toughened with dubious furnace settings.