As it turns out, exploding stars have a key ingredient for glass. Silica (silicon dioxide, SiO2) is a very common mineral found in Earth’s rocks. One of those rocks, quartz, also has silica in it. Quartz is in sand, sand is in glass.
A new study using observations by NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope reports that silica, one of the common minerals found on Earth, was formed when a large star exploded near Earth.
Silica is used in many, many things. Concrete for sidewalks, roads and buildings are just some of the things silica is used for.
https://www.nasa.gov/image-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EndRBo-pvOI&authuser=0
This is related to engineering because glass is a key element in many buildings and everyday things.
