Tempered glass has lots of stress. Upset that stress and it'll explode, typically a tap in the right place on an edge or corner will do it. Been there, used to work with tempered glass, have seen it spray 20' across a shop floor from sliding across grit in the packaging.
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Originally Posted by Codifex Maximus
I have high hopes for the future of ceramics. That said, I don't trust them yet. They shatter too easily and the potential for damage is too great compared to the benefit gained.
Corning had some nice cookware called Visions(tm) that I really liked. Only way to destroy them (it seemed) was to drop and fracture them (or so we thought). Some folks said that the cookware just shattered. Sounds like your typical ceramic to me.
I had a glass top desk that I really liked. Took one of the panes off one day to wash it. Carefully now! After cleaning, gently set it down on the ceramic tile floor. After drying, carefully lovingly picked it up without putting any torque on it whatsoever... shattered into a million pieces! Exploded even. 
Ceramics... just don't trust em. YMMV |