This paper is concerned with the stress pulses emitted when glass specimens fracture under various types of loading. In particular, the pulses emitted under the following conditions are dealt with in detail: (a) fractures produced by Hertzian impacts; (b) fractures produced in rods under conditions of pure tension; (c) fractures produced in rods by ‘Hopkinson’ spalling; and (d) fractures produced in rods under conditions of pure bending. The information which these emitted pulses give with respect to the fracture process, and the interaction between the emitted pulses and the applied stress field are considered; the information which these results give with regard to the process of brittle fracture is also discussed.