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Researchers at McGill University have developed the strongest and strongest glass ever. Inspired, in part, by the inner layer of mollusk shells, this glass does not shatter when touched and instead acts like plastic.
The material, once commercially viable, could be used to enhance cellphone displays, among other applications in the future.
Interestingly, this may be an example of modern science rediscovering old technology, now long lost.
Apparently, a form of flexible glass existed during the reign of the Roman Emperor Tiberius Caesar. So goes the story, told by Petronius, a glassmaker brought a drinking bowl made of this material in front of the emperor.
According to historical accounts, when the bowl was tested for strength, it dented rather than shattered. Moreover, the inventor swore that he was the only person who knew how this miracle was achieved.
Tiberius had the man executed, fearing that the glass would devalue gold and silver because it might be more valuable.
“When I think of the Tiberius story, I’m happy that our material innovation leads to release rather than execution,” says Allen Ehrlicher, Associate Professor in the Department of Bioengineering at McGill University.
Strengthening glass by copying nature
Currently, the only way to strengthen glass is by tempering or laminating it. While this can strengthen the glass, the process (s) are expensive and provide no additional structural strength when damaged.
“Until now, there have been tradeoffs between high strength, toughness and transparency. Our new material is not only three times stronger than normal glass, but also more than five times more resistant to fractures, ”says Honest.
The inspiration for this new type of glass came from nature – namely mother of pearl or “mother of pearl”. In the end, McGill scientists succeeded in developing the new composite of glass and acrylic.
“Nature is a master of design. Studying the structure of biological materials and understanding how they work provides inspiration, and sometimes blueprints, for new materials, ”explains Ehrlicher.
Mother of pearl is a great choice for inspiration, as it is a very durable material in its own right.
“Surprisingly, mother of pearl has the stiffness of a stiff material and the durability of a soft material, giving it the best of both worlds,” Ehrlicher continues.
“It’s made of stiff pieces of chalk-like material that are coated with soft, highly elastic proteins. This structure produces exceptional resistance, making it 3000 times stronger than the materials it is made of, ”he adds.
By taking a close look at the architecture of mother-of-pearl, the researchers were able to replicate it in glass using glass flakes and acrylic. This structure resulted in an extremely strong, but opaque material, which can, in theory, be produced a lot inexpensively and quickly.
To make tough glass a real replacement for more conventional glass, the material had to be made transparent, or at least translucent.
“By adjusting the refractive index of the acrylic, we made it blend seamlessly with the glass to create a truly transparent composite,” says lead author Ali Amini, postdoctoral researcher at McGill. In the future, the team hopes to improve resistant glass by incorporating intelligent technology allowing glass to modify its properties, such as color, mechanics and conductivity.
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