a substance having the general formula, Na2O.xSiO2, where x varies between 3 and 5, existing as an amorphous powder or present in a usually viscous aqueous solution
water glass (sense 1)
2.
any sodium salt of orthosilicic acid or metasilicic acid
sodium silicate in American English
noun
Chemistry
any of several clear, white, or greenish water-soluble compounds of formulas varying in ratio from Na2O⋅3.75SiO2to 2Na2O⋅SiO2: used chiefly in dyeing, printing, and fireproofing textiles and in the manufacture of paper products and cement
Also called: liquid glass, water glass
Examples of 'sodium silicate' in a sentence
sodium silicate
Another used sodium silicate, or 'water glass', to create a 'reverse fish-tank' effect.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
One approach is the use of microcapsules of chemicals such as sodium silicate, which are mixed with the concrete and break when the concrete fractures.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
The sodium silicate then seeps into the crack, reacting with the calcium hydroxide in the concrete to bind it together.