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How Corning Created the Ultrathin, Ultrastrong Material of the Future

wired.com

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Re: How Corning Created the Ultrathin, Ultrastrong Material of the Future

#21

Post by lucian1900 »

tomrod wrote: post #14
defen wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From the Isaacson biography: Jobs described the type of glass Apple wanted for the iPhone, and Weeks told him that Corning had developed a chemical exchange process in the 1960s that led to what they dubbed “gorilla glass.” It was incredibly strong, but it had never found a market, so Corning quit making it. Jobs said he doubted it was good enough, and he started explaining to Weeks how glass was made. This amused We…

Jobs. I sure respect the man. Uncompromising vision!

Really? Reading that I was thinking "what an asshole, no respect for the scientist and engineer talking to him."

Re: How Corning Created the Ultrathin, Ultrastrong Material of the Future

#22

Post by 385668 »

tomrod wrote: post #14
defen wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From the Isaacson biography: Jobs described the type of glass Apple wanted for the iPhone, and Weeks told him that Corning had developed a chemical exchange process in the 1960s that led to what they dubbed “gorilla glass.” It was incredibly strong, but it had never found a market, so Corning quit making it. Jobs said he doubted it was good enough, and he started explaining to Weeks how glass was made. This amused We…

Jobs. I sure respect the man. Uncompromising vision!

It is amazing what vision, a few hundred million dollars, and Chinese serf labor can do.

Re: How Corning Created the Ultrathin, Ultrastrong Material of the Future

#23

Post by newhouseb »

lucian1900 wrote: post #21
tomrod wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Jobs. I sure respect the man. Uncompromising vision!

Really? Reading that I was thinking "what an asshole, no respect for the scientist and engineer talking to him."

(Weeks is actually an accountant by education)

Re: How Corning Created the Ultrathin, Ultrastrong Material of the Future

#24

Post by Flenser »

Why couldn't the images in the article have shown these:

Corning’s headquarters in upstate New York looks like a Space Invaders alien: Designed by architect Kevin Roche in the early ’90s, the structure fans out in staggered blocks. From the ground, though, the tinted windows and extended eaves make the building look more like a glossy, futuristic Japanese palace.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Corning+headquarters&t...

In some cases, a Prince Rupert’s drop can explode with such force that it will actually emit a flash of light.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Prince+Rupert’s+drop&t...

Re: How Corning Created the Ultrathin, Ultrastrong Material of the Future

#26

Post by saraid216 »

newhouseb wrote: post #23
lucian1900 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Really? Reading that I was thinking "what an asshole, no respect for the scientist and engineer talking to him."

(Weeks is actually an accountant by education)

Who was capable of explaining modern glassmaking. At some point, your degree stops mattering when talking about labels like "scientist" and "engineer".

Re: How Corning Created the Ultrathin, Ultrastrong Material of the Future

#27

Post by tomrod »

lucian1900 wrote: post #21
tomrod wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Jobs. I sure respect the man. Uncompromising vision!

Really? Reading that I was thinking "what an asshole, no respect for the scientist and engineer talking to him."

I agree. I think he could have been kinder while achieving his goals. But his vision is something I admire.

Re: How Corning Created the Ultrathin, Ultrastrong Material of the Future

#28

Post by InclinedPlane »

Wingman4l7 wrote: post #19

I got peeved with Corning the other day when I found out they let another company produce Pyrex-brand glass under license which is not borosilicate glass. The whole point of Pyrex was resistance to heat, which you don't get with the cheaper soda-lime glass. At least I learned how to tell them apart (soda-lime has a blueish color, and borosilicate is clear).

I didn't really appreciate the weaknesses of modern soda-lime "pyrex" until I tried to use a baking dish to steam my oven for baking bread (normally I use a cast iron pan). The pyrex instantly shattered into a gazillion pieces, which was tons of fun to clean up.

In the future I plan on picking up proper borosilicate glass cookware (marinex appears to be one brand that makes such).

Re: How Corning Created the Ultrathin, Ultrastrong Material of the Future

#29

Post by Geee »

Gorilla glass is far from perfect material for smartphone displays, because it shatters so easily. There are pretty good plastic materials too, especially those used in eyeglasses. Apparently, glass still offers the best scratch-resistance, but I would rather have a non-shattering display.

Re: How Corning Created the Ultrathin, Ultrastrong Material of the Future

#30

Post by twoodfin »

pcl wrote: post #20

"In some cases, a Prince Rupert’s drop can explode with such force that it will actually emit a flash of light." This got me wondering... and Google turned up a hit from an 1855 (!) edition of the Encyclopaedia Brittanica [1], and a fascinating Wikipedia article about triboluminescence [2]. What a cool world we live in! [1] http://books.google.com/books?id=92xBAAAAcAAJ&lpg=PA564&... [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T…

Ha, I had forgotten about the Wint-O-Green Lifesavers trick, and never had it explained.
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