Glass-to-metal seal formation of lithium tungstate. Due to its low thermal expansion coefficient, matched to glass, tungsten is frequently used for glass-metal bonds. Tungsten forms satisfying bonds with glasses with similar thermal expansion coefficient such as high-borosilicate glass. The surface of both the metal and glass should be smooth, without scratches. Tungsten has the lowest expansion coefficient of metals and the highest melting point. 304 Stainless steel forms bonds with glass via an intermediate layer of chromium(III) oxide and iron(III) oxide. Further reactions of chromium, forming chromium silicide dendrites, are possible. The thermal expansion coefficient of steel is however fairly different from
Melting point a characteristic property of a substance. When the "characteristic freezing point" of a substance is determined, in fact the actual methodology is almost always "the principle of observing the disappearance rather than the formation of ice", that is, the melting point. For most substances, melting and freezing points are approximately equal. For example, the melting point "and" freezing point of mercury is 234.32 kelvins (−38.83 °C or −37.89 °F). However, certain substances possess differing solid-liquid transition temperatures. For example, agar melts at 85 °C (185 °F) and solidifies from ; such direction dependence is known as hysteresis. The melting point