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Scientists develop 'unbreakable' glass almost as tough as steel

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Re: Scientists develop 'unbreakable' glass almost as tough as steel

#31

Post by mvgoogler »

Am I being overly cynical when I interpret: “We will establish a way to mass-produce the new material shortly ... We are looking to commercialize the technique within five years.” as "We have no clue how to mass-produce this but hope we can figure it out in five years if someone gives us money"?

It's hard to imagine how a gas-based "containerless processing system" will lend itself to producing the thin, uniform sheets of glass for windows or complex shapes like tableware.

It's a cool prototype, but figuring out how to produce at scale is often the hard part.

Re: Scientists develop 'unbreakable' glass almost as tough as steel

#32

Post by govspy »

cordite wrote: post #29

A 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? Ho…

>2. How would it handle for cookware? Will it last even if an ignorant person left it in the oven for hours on end?

Pyrex has been around since the 1910s and doing this just fine ever since.

Re: Scientists develop 'unbreakable' glass almost as tough as steel

#33

Post by politician »

govspy wrote: post #32
cordite wrote: post #29

A 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? Ho…

>2. How would it handle for cookware? Will it last even if an ignorant person left it in the oven for hours on end? Pyrex has been around since the 1910s and doing this just fine ever since.

Well, Corning sold the brand name Pyrex around 2000. A post-2000 Pyrex item may not have the same composition as the Corning product you're more familiar with.

Re: Scientists develop 'unbreakable' glass almost as tough as steel

#35

Post by nly »

govspy wrote: post #32
cordite wrote: post #29

A 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? Ho…

>2. How would it handle for cookware? Will it last even if an ignorant person left it in the oven for hours on end? Pyrex has been around since the 1910s and doing this just fine ever since.

Pyrex will shatter if you take it out of a blistering hot oven and pour cold water on it (e.g. to let stuck on food soak).

Re: Scientists develop 'unbreakable' glass almost as tough as steel

#36

Post by yyyyyak »

nly wrote: post #35
govspy wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>2. How would it handle for cookware? Will it last even if an ignorant person left it in the oven for hours on end? Pyrex has been around since the 1910s and doing this just fine ever since.

Pyrex will shatter if you take it out of a blistering hot oven and pour cold water on it (e.g. to let stuck on food soak).

Yah...I just learned this the hard way. I took it out of the oven and put in on the cold granite countertop.

Re: Scientists develop 'unbreakable' glass almost as tough as steel

#37

Post by blt »

craigds wrote: post #20

To 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…

Don't think it's nitpicking at all. I came away unsure whether the new material is hard (scratch resistant) or tough (won't shatter when dropped). An article about a new material that doesn't make the distinction fails fundamentally.

Re: Scientists develop 'unbreakable' glass almost as tough as steel

#38

Post by wobbleblob »

craigds wrote: post #20

To 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…

> Everything is breakable, given a big enough hammer ;)

Or time alone with my daughter! "child-proof" isn't a reassurance, it's a challenge

Re: Scientists develop 'unbreakable' glass almost as tough as steel

#39

Post by d2xdy2 »

nly wrote: post #35
govspy wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>2. How would it handle for cookware? Will it last even if an ignorant person left it in the oven for hours on end? Pyrex has been around since the 1910s and doing this just fine ever since.

Pyrex will shatter if you take it out of a blistering hot oven and pour cold water on it (e.g. to let stuck on food soak).

Yeah, taking a piping hot casserole dish out of the oven and placing it on a damp rag on my counter showed me this feature. Pretty terrifying at the time.

Re: Scientists develop 'unbreakable' glass almost as tough as steel

#40

Post by aryehof »

wobbleblob wrote: post #38
craigds wrote: post #20

To 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…

> Everything is breakable, given a big enough hammer ;) Or time alone with my daughter! "child-proof" isn't a reassurance, it's a challenge

So many of us can identify with that, and so well stated!
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