The invention relates to a silica glass compound having improved physical and chemical properties. In one embodiment, the present invention relates to a silica glass having a desirable brittleness in combination with a desirable density while still yielding a glass composition having a desired hardness and desired strength relative to other glasses. In another embodiment, the present invention relates to a silica glass composition that contains at least about 85 mole percent silicon dioxide and up to about 15 mole percent of one or more dopants selected from F, B, N, Al, Ge, one or more alkali metals (e.g., Li, Na, K, etc.), one or more alkaline earth metals (e.g., Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, etc.), one or more transition metals (e.g., Ti, Zn, Y, Zr, Hf, etc.), one or more lanthanides (e.g., Ce, etc.), or combinations of any two or more thereof.