I found this animated image to be a great exhibit of how modern technology was able to redefine a 4500+ years old practice of shaping glass objects. This is a 3D Glass printing machine. A machine that heats the glass precisely and deposited it from the upper chamber that reaches 1900°F to the lower chamber that cools down the glass slowly to prevent any stress and cracks. The special characteristics of glass make a very interesting fluid visualization when it reaches a certain temperature. The high viscosity of molten glass allows for shaping it into complex and unique objects. These pictures were created by Steven Keating
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Third place for best of web. I really like how satisfying the ultra laminar flow is coming out of the nozzle. The process of heating the glass and then cooling it a little before extruding to prevent stresses is quite interesting. I also like that this is such an old practice (glass shaping) and new technology of (3d printing) are incorporated in together.