Abstract: A method and a device for the continuous production of glass and glass ceramic products from a glass melt is provided, which simplifies the changing between two kinds of glass. The device includes a melting crucible and an induction coil, which preferably extends around the melting crucible in order to heat a glass melt by means of an induction field generated by the induction coil. The wall elements, which form the side wall of the crucible, have cooling channels, through which a cooling fluid can be conducted, so that the glass melt solidifies on the side wall and forms a skull layer. The interior side of the wall elements is formed at least in part by an aluminum nitride-containing ceramic.

Abstract: A method and a device for the continuous production of glass and glass ceramic products from a glass melt is provided, which simplifies the changing between two kinds of glass. The device includes a melting crucible and an induction coil, which preferably extends around the melting crucible in order to heat a glass melt by means of an induction field generated by the induction coil. The wall elements, which form the side wall of the crucible, have cooling channels, through which a cooling fluid can be conducted, so that the glass melt solidifies on the side wall and forms a skull layer. The interior side of the wall elements is formed at least in part by an aluminum nitride-containing ceramic.

Abstract: A heating apparatus for the conductive heating of melts, in particular for the rapid melting-down, refining and/or conditioning of melts, is provided. The heating apparatus includes at least one electrode, as well as a first cooling system with a cooling power, which can be set and/or controlled variably.

Abstract: The method measures the thickness of a hot glass body without direct contact with the glass body and is based on chromatic aberration. This method includes focusing a light beam from a light source on the hot glass body using a focusing device immediately after formation; conducting reflected light from the glass body into a spectrometer to obtain a reflected light spectrum; finding two wavelengths of the reflected light from the front side and the rear side of the glass body respectively at which reflected light intensities are maximum; determining the thickness of the glass body from the difference between the two wavelengths; maintaining the focusing device at a temperature below 120° C. during the measuring of the thickness and substantially preventing heat radiation from reaching the focusing device using at least one heat-blocking filter.

Abstract: The invention relates to an apparatus and a method for low-contamination melting of high-purity, aggressive and/or high-melting glass or glass-ceramic. According to the invention, for this purpose a melt is heated in a crucible or melting skull crucible by means of high-frequency radiation and is mixed or homogenized in the melting crucible. It is preferable for a gas nozzle, from which gas bubbles, e.g. oxygen bubbles (known as O2 bubbling), escape into the melt, to be provided at the base of the crucible. This alone makes it possible to achieve surprising multiple benefits in the melting skull crucible. Firstly, unmelted batch which drops into the melt in solid form, for example from above, is melted down more quickly as a result of more intensive mixing with the liquid fraction of the melt, secondly the temperature distribution in the melt is made more even, thirdly a uniform distribution or mixing of different glass constituents is achieved, and fourthly the redox state of the glass can be adjusted.

Abstract: A heating apparatus for the conductive heating of melts, in particular for the rapid melting-down, refining and/or conditioning of melts, is provided. The heating apparatus includes at least one electrode, as well as a first cooling system with a cooling power, which can be set and/or controlled variably.

Abstract: The method measures the thickness of a hot glass body without direct contact with the glass body and is based on chromatic aberration. This method includes focusing a light beam from a light source on the hot glass body using a focusing device immediately after formation; conducting reflected light from the glass body into a spectrometer to obtain a reflected light spectrum; finding two wavelengths of the reflected light from the front side and the rear side of the glass body respectively at which reflected light intensities are maximum; determining the thickness of the glass body from the difference between the two wavelengths; maintaining the focusing device at a temperature below 120° C. during the measuring of the thickness and substantially preventing heat radiation from reaching the focusing device using at least one heat-blocking filter.