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 whose viscosity increases to a point due to polymerization and then decreases with higher temperatures in its molten state. Some organic compounds melt through mesophases, states of partial order between solid and liquid. From a thermodynamics point of view, at the melting point the change in Gibbs free energy "∆G" of the substances is zero, but there are non-zero changes in the enthalpy ("H") and the entropy ("S"), known respectively as the enthalpy of fusion (or latent heat of fusion) and the entropy of fusion. Melting is therefore classified as a first-order phase transition. Melting occurs when the Gibbs free