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Japanese Scientists Invent Nearly Unbreakable Glass

posted by n1 on Monday November 09 2015, @06:19AM   
from the smashing dept.

Phoenix666 writes:

Scientists in Japan say they have found a way to create a new type of glass that’s almost as strong as steel and nearly unbreakable.

Researchers at the University of Tokyo’s Institute of Industrial Science have published findings of their experiments in the journal Nature Scientific Reports, a breakthrough that could change commercial use of glass.

Glass as we currently know it, is based on silica (silicon dioxide), the main component of sand. The innovative method that the Tokyo team has come up with uses a different process for creating safer, indestructible glass. The secret ingredient used in creating the durable glass is alumina, an oxide of aluminum. Mixed with silicon dioxide, it results in an exceptionally tough glass.

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Original Submission

• Re:Glass, or crystal? (Score: 5, Informative) by moondrake on Monday November 09 2015, @09:21AM

  by moondrake (2658) on Monday November 09 2015, @09:21AM (#260707)

  hmmm...
                  Hold up a glass to the light. If the glass acts as a prism and you see a rainbow you are holding crystal. If not, it is just plain glass.
  Except when the glass is cut in such a way as to act like a prism
                  When struck, crystal produces a musical ring. Glass does not.
  My wine glasses do, they are definitely not made out of crystal.
                  If you wet your finger and run it around the rim of a crystal glass it will also produce a musical tone.
  See above.
                  Crystal can be worked thinner than glass, so if the rim of a piece is exceptionally thin it's probably crystal.
  depends a lot to what kind of Crystal you refer to. Lead glass for example cannot be worked thin.
                  If you compare two glasses of the same size, the crystal glass will be heavier.
  Again depends on the type of glass. Crystal glasses are mostly just mixtures of glass and some other materials (lead oxide, sodium oxide, etc). The properties vary a lot.
                  Glass typically has sharp cuts, while crystal will have clean, rounded cuts.
  Again depends on the type of glass. Apart from the price (you should have listed that), this is why I know my wine glasses are glass!

  Parent

  Starting Score:	1		point
  Moderation		+3
  Informative=3, Total=3
  Extra 'Informative' Modifier		0
  Karma-Bonus Modifier		+1
  Total Score:		5