A cover glass article includes a glass body having a three-dimensional shape, an inside surface, and an outside surface. Each of the inside and outside surfaces has a surface roughness (R.sub.a) less than 1 nm and is free of indentations having diameters larger than 150 m.

A feed-through element for harsh environments is provided that includes a support body with at least one access opening, in which at least one functional element is arranged in an electrically insulating fixing material. The electrically insulating fixing material contains a glass or a glass ceramic with a volume resistivity of greater than 1.010.sup.10 cm at the temperature of 350 C. The glass or a glass ceramic has a defined composition range in the system SiO.sub.2B.sub.2O.sub.3-MO.

A feed-through element for harsh environments is provided that includes a support body with at least one access opening, in which at least one functional element is arranged in an electrically insulating fixing material. The electrically insulating fixing material contains a glass or a glass ceramic with a volume resistivity of greater than 1.010.sup.10 cm at the temperature of 350 C. The glass or a glass ceramic has a defined composition range in the system SiO.sub.2B.sub.2O.sub.3-MO.

The Ti.sup.3+ ions present in Ti-doped silica glass cause a brown staining of the glass, causing inspection of the lens to become more difficult. Known methods for reducing Ti.sup.3+ ions in favor of Ti.sup.4+ ions in Ti-doped silica glass include a sufficiently high proportion of OH-groups and carrying out an oxygen treatment prior to vitrification, which both have disadvantages. In order to provide a cost-efficient production method for Ti-doped silica glass, which at a hydroxyl group content of less than 120 ppm shows an internal transmittance (sample thickness 10 mm) of at least 70% in the wavelength range of 400 nm to 1000 nm, the TiO.sub.2SiO.sub.2 soot body is subjected to a conditioning treatment with a nitrogen oxide prior to vitrification. The blank produced in this way from Ti-doped silica glass has the ratio Ti.sup.3+/Ti.sup.4+510.sup.4.

The Ti.sup.3+ ions present in Ti-doped silica glass cause a brown staining of the glass, causing inspection of the lens to become more difficult. Known methods for reducing Ti.sup.3+ ions in favor of Ti.sup.4+ ions in Ti-doped silica glass include a sufficiently high proportion of OH-groups and carrying out an oxygen treatment prior to vitrification, which both have disadvantages. In order to provide a cost-efficient production method for Ti-doped silica glass, which at a hydroxyl group content of less than 120 ppm shows an internal transmittance (sample thickness 10 mm) of at least 70% in the wavelength range of 400 nm to 1000 nm, the TiO.sub.2SiO.sub.2 soot body is subjected to a conditioning treatment with a nitrogen oxide prior to vitrification. The blank produced in this way from Ti-doped silica glass has the ratio Ti.sup.3+/Ti.sup.4+510.sup.4.

An item of furniture or appliance includes at least one worktop formed from at least one substrate made of a transparent monolithic glazing material and of area larger than 0.7 m.sup.2, equipped with a coating so that the substrate equipped with the coating has a haze higher than 15%, a light transmission T.sub.L lower than 60% and an opacity indicator higher than 85. The item of furniture or appliance also includes at least one heating element, at least one light source to light up one or more zones or one or more elements or displays of the substrate, the source being located plumb with the substrate in order to form a display by projection, or under the substrate in order to form a display by transmission through the substrate, and at least one interface for communicating with at least one element of the worktop.

An item of furniture or appliance includes at least one worktop formed from at least one substrate made of a transparent monolithic glazing material and of area larger than 0.7 m.sup.2, equipped with a coating so that the substrate equipped with the coating has a haze higher than 15%, a light transmission T.sub.L lower than 60% and an opacity indicator higher than 85. The item of furniture or appliance also includes at least one heating element, at least one light source to light up one or more zones or one or more elements or displays of the substrate, the source being located plumb with the substrate in order to form a display by projection, or under the substrate in order to form a display by transmission through the substrate, and at least one interface for communicating with at least one element of the worktop.

A feed-through element for harsh environments is provided that includes a support body with at least one access opening, in which at least one functional element is arranged in an electrically insulating fixing material. The electrically insulating fixing material contains a glass or a glass ceramic with a volume resistivity of greater than 1.010.sup.10 cm at the temperature of 350 C. The glass or a glass ceramic has a defined composition range in the system SiO.sub.2B.sub.2O.sub.3-MO.

In order to provide a method which can produce red glass vessels and which is attended by low cost in respect of the raw materials/starting materials and also in respect of control of process parameters, an appropriate method for producing red glass vessels is proposed in which a colourless molten glass composition containing at most 3% by mass of tin oxide and at most 3% by mass of copper oxide is produced, where the resultant colourless molten glass composition is refined under neutral conditions with sodium sulphate and/or calcium sulphate and with a carbon-containing reducing agent with a molar carbon/sulphate ratio of from 0.5 to 5, where glass vessels are moulded from said refined glass composition, and where the glass vessels are cooled to a temperature of below 520 degrees C. to 580 degrees C.

In order to provide a method which can produce red glass vessels and which is attended by low cost in respect of the raw materials/starting materials and also in respect of control of process parameters, an appropriate method for producing red glass vessels is proposed in which a colourless molten glass composition containing at most 3% by mass of tin oxide and at most 3% by mass of copper oxide is produced, where the resultant colourless molten glass composition is refined under neutral conditions with sodium sulphate and/or calcium sulphate and with a carbon-containing reducing agent with a molar carbon/sulphate ratio of from 0.5 to 5, where glass vessels are moulded from said refined glass composition, and where the glass vessels are cooled to a temperature of below 520 degrees C. to 580 degrees C.