I wonder if it's safe to smoke out of.
Scientists develop 'unbreakable' glass almost as tough as steel
21–30 of 75 posts
Re: Scientists develop 'unbreakable' glass almost as tough as steel
#22To nitpick, the article uses the words 'tough', 'hard' and 'rigid' to describe this glass, though those all mean different things. I'd suggest that all glass is both hard and rigid, so presumably 'tough' is what they're going for. If so, the glass should be able to withstand a large tensile force without fracture or permanent deformation. 'unbreakable' is also a little disingenuous. Everything is breakable, given a b…
They provided technical terminology when they explained that its Young's modulus is comparable to steel and iron. I agree that 'unbreakable' is clickbait even if it is quoted.
Re: Scientists develop 'unbreakable' glass almost as tough as steel
#23Sounds like a hybrid between glass and "transparent aluminium".
Sapphire crystal [1] is something like transparent aluminum rust. Alumina [2] is too, I think. They might be the same thing, I'm not a chemist. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapphire [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminium_oxide
Alumina is Al2O3 generally, and usually it is polycrystalline. Sapphire is specifically Al2O3 in a certain (very hard) crystal structure.
Re: Scientists develop 'unbreakable' glass almost as tough as steel
#24This is cool regardless. But I am interested in cost and weight. If it is too costly we might only see it used in niche applications (e.g. aircraft windows?). But even then if it weighs more than regular glass it may not even be utilised there. I'd like to see it used on vehicle front windshields, cracks are a constant pain in the butt, and they can leave the rear window and side windows as regular glass for emergenc…
Your windshield is safety glass, so consideration must be given for the need to dissipate energy when a human head collides with it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windshield#Safety Trivia: A famous lawsuit about the safety of windshield glass was the _Pane_ vs. Ford case in 1917
I don't think that safely fracturing when struck by a human is the safety function referred to in the linked article - once a person hits the windshield, the primary safety mechanisms (seatbelts, airbags, and structural integrity of the car) have already failed, so whatever happens at the windshield will make little difference.
What the article says is that the safety role of a windshield (besides not breaking into dangerous shards of glass) is in being strong enough to maintain the structural integrity of the passenger compartment:
Modern, glued-in windshields contribute to the vehicle's rigidity, but the main force for innovation has historically been the need to prevent injury from sharp glass fragments. Almost all nations now require windshields to stay in one piece even if broken, except if pierced by a strong force. Properly installed automobile windshields are also essential to safety; along with the roof of the car, they provide protection to the vehicle's occupants in the case of a roll-over accident.
Today’s windshields are a safety device just like seat belts and airbags. The installation of the auto glass is done with an automotive grade urethane designed specifically for automobiles. The adhesive creates a molecular bond between the glass and the vehicle. If the adhesive bond fails at any point on the glass it can reduce the effectiveness of the air bag and substantially compromise the structural integrity of the roof.
Re: Scientists develop 'unbreakable' glass almost as tough as steel
#25Sounds like a hybrid between glass and "transparent aluminium".
So... Gorilla glass? edit: yeah... From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorilla_Glass Gorilla Glass is a brand of specialized toughened glass developed and manufactured by Corning, now in its fourth generation,[1] designed to be thin, light and damage-resistant. This type of glass is not unique to Corning; similar glasses include Asahi Glass Co. Dragontrail and Schott AG Xensation.[2][3] The alkali-aluminosilicate she…
>> (The link is to asahi.com)
Asahi Glass Co. is a separate company to Asahi Shimbun, the news organisation. AGC has a historical connection to the Mitsubishi group through the founder's family, but really is a wholly independent group of companies.
Re: Scientists develop 'unbreakable' glass almost as tough as steel
#26But is it as scratch resistant as hardened glass? Having glass that doesn't fracture when dropped is nice, but not if it means it gets scratched up from the keys in my pocket.
Re: Scientists develop 'unbreakable' glass almost as tough as steel
#27To nitpick, the article uses the words 'tough', 'hard' and 'rigid' to describe this glass, though those all mean different things. I'd suggest that all glass is both hard and rigid, so presumably 'tough' is what they're going for. If so, the glass should be able to withstand a large tensile force without fracture or permanent deformation. 'unbreakable' is also a little disingenuous. Everything is breakable, given a b…
Yeah, the only justification for 'toughness' was the Young's modulus, which does not tell you how resistant it is to breaking at all. And by that measure, sapphire [1] is 2.5 times tougher than steel [2].
[1] E = 7.4e7 psi (http://rubicontechnology.com/company/sapphire)
[2] E = 2.9e7 psi (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young%27s_modulus)
Re: Scientists develop 'unbreakable' glass almost as tough as steel
#28Re: Scientists develop 'unbreakable' glass almost as tough as steel
#29A few questions on applicability
1. Would this be good for a car? Is having a mostly unbreakable windshield a good thing?
2. How would it handle for cookware? Will it last even if an ignorant person left it in the oven for hours on end?
3. What about uses on phones? Can I have both a scratch resistant touch screen that also doesn't fracture if I drop it 3ft onto asphalt?
4. What does it do in reaction to sunlight? How insulative is it if used in buildings and homes?
5. Is it non reactive for biomedical uses? Does it deteriorate over time? How stable is it?
Re: Scientists develop 'unbreakable' glass almost as tough as steel
#30To nitpick, the article uses the words 'tough', 'hard' and 'rigid' to describe this glass, though those all mean different things. I'd suggest that all glass is both hard and rigid, so presumably 'tough' is what they're going for. If so, the glass should be able to withstand a large tensile force without fracture or permanent deformation. 'unbreakable' is also a little disingenuous. Everything is breakable, given a b…
They provided technical terminology when they explained that its Young's modulus is comparable to steel and iron. I agree that 'unbreakable' is clickbait even if it is quoted.
That still doesn't mean anything useful. That's just a measure of how much it changes shape per unit force in its elastic phase. It gives no indication about how far it can go changing shape in a reversible, elastic manner before it starts to yield and undergo permanent deformation.
Now a stress-strain curve on the other hand, THAT would be useful.