# Seeing through glass = non-crystalline?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeing-through-glass-non-crystalline/330324
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports
**Created:** [November 10, 2005, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeing-through-glass-non-crystalline/330324 "2005-11-10T02:16:27Z")
**Posts on this page:** 2
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)
#### Post date: [November 10, 2005, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeing-through-glass-non-crystalline/330324/1 "2005-11-10T02:16:27Z")
In Uncle Cecil’s old (1982) column on [how come you can see through glass?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_120.html), the Master wrote:
> [@](#):
>
> [The] internal structure [of glass], though, is not the regular crystalline latticework of your standard solid, but rather is essentially random, like the typical liquid. As with many liquids, the rather loosely spaced molecules in glass are simply not big enough to obstruct the passage of light particles.
Ah, but then, why can I see through a **diamond**? Diamonds **do** have a regular crystalline lattice.
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### Author:  [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)
#### Post date: [November 10, 2005, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeing-through-glass-non-crystalline/330324/2 "2005-11-10T17:25:11Z")
> [@tracer](#):
>
> In Uncle Cecil’s old (1982) column on [how come you can see through glass?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_120.html), the Master wrote:
> Ah, but then, why can I see through a **diamond**? Diamonds **do** have a regular crystalline lattice.
The randomness or not of the structure isn’t why glass is transparant, it’s all the other stuff he mentioned in the last paragraph. Transparent crystals (like diamond) are more clear than random materials like glass. That randomness leads to scattering in the material. It’s not noticeable in a thin sheet of glass, but if you had a much thicker amount, you’d notice things become hazy. In a uniform crystal, you won’t get that hazy effect no matter what the transmission distance.