Glass
Glass is essentially a liquid that hardens into an uncrystallized state without ever becoming a true solid. Glass is often referred to as a "super cooled liquid".

Soft Glass
Mainly used in beadmaking. It's also called "soda-lime" glass, and melts at low temperatures. Soft glass is a mixture of silica, calcium, & sodium. Examples of soft glass include: Italian "Moretti" or "Effetre" - Czech "Murano" - American "Bullseye" - German "Lauscha" - Japanese "Satake"

Hard Glass
Also called Borosilicate & Pyrex. This glass was developed by Corning Glass Works and is mainly used in scientific laboratory equipment, but is also used for sculptural and bead work.

Lampwork
Also known as flamework, it's the process of sculpting glass with the aid of a torch. The word lampwork comes from the ancient practice of using oil lamps to melt glass aided by a blow pipe.

Torch
The most important tool for beadmaking. It's a source of heat for melting glass. There are many types of torches, ranging from single-fuel like MAPP gas to the more sophisticated oxygen-propane system. Natural gas may be used in place of propane. A two fuel torch will create a much hotter flame than a single fuel torch.

Compatibility
In order to melt numerous pieces of glass together, the pieces must be compatible. What this means is that the pieces of glass must expand and contract at the same rate when they are heated and cooled, otherwise, one piece could cause the others to crack or shatter.

Mandrel
A stainless steel rod on which the molten glass is applied to in order to construct the bead. The hole in the bead comes from the mandrel.

Bead Separator
A mixture of alumina and high-fire clay. The mandrel is dipped in the mixture to create a buffer between the steel rod and the molten glass. This allows the bead to be easily removed off the mandrel after it cools.

Annealing
The process of slowly cooling beads to remove stress in the glass that may cause cracking. The beads must be maintained at a set temperature (also called "Soaking") in a kiln at 960° for 20 minutes or more for the beads to properly anneal. Once "soaked" the kiln is turned off and allowed to cool to room temperature so that the annealed beads don't get thermal shock and break or shatter.