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Manganese and Glass Production

The chemical element manganese has a long history with glass making. Manganese is naturally found within the mineral ore pyrolusite. Pyrolusite was used by early glassblowers and artists to create purple glass. This purple color was caused by the presence of manganese dioxide. Later chemists introduced pyrolusite into the making of glass to balance impurities. For example, if the sand used to create glass contained traces of iron, the untreated glass produced would have a yellow appearance. The introduction of pyrolusite would balance the yellow tint with purple, causing the final glass product to be clear in appearance.