What happens when tempered glass is broken?

When tempered glass is broken, it shatters into thousands of small, cube-like pieces. This characteristic is a result of the tempering process, which enhances the glass's strength through controlled heating and cooling. The design ensures that the fragments produced are less likely to cause serious injury, as opposed to traditional glass, which tends to break into sharp shards. This safety feature is particularly important in environments such as residential buildings, vehicles, and areas where the risk of glass injury needs to be minimized. Understanding this behavior is crucial for firefighters and emergency responders when dealing with incidents involving glass, as it affects both safety protocols and the approach to handling broken glass.