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An experimental procedure was developed to propagate cracks in glass plates in a controlled andreproducible fashion. The procedure involves the use of a temperature gradient to propagate an existing crack. The glass plate is moved through this gradient and the crack morphology depends on the temperature gradient and the velocity of motion. There are types: straight, oscillating and branched. The transition from straight to wavy cracks was shown to be a Hopf bifurcation.

Workers at Tohoku University in Japan have developed a method to control and reproduce crack motion on a thin glass plate. The procedure involves the use of a thermal gradient to propagate the introduced crack. Different crack patterns may be generated depending on the velocity of the crack propagation. The procedure is similar to directional solidification. The experimental procedure will allow for the study of fractures using pattern formation and nonlinear dynamics techniques.