I have seen the future (And it's made of glass) - Computerworld

[Guest LilBambi]

I have seen the future (And it's made of glass) - Computerworld

By Mike Elgan

 

It's hard to think of glass as an area of rapid technology evolution. But it's one of the central technologies that will bring us incredible innovations over the next couple of years.

 

A combination of new technology, plus a strong desire on the part of major companies to transform glass, will affect nearly every category of consumer electronics, from smart watches to phones to tablets to desktop computers to smart homes and offices.

 

Hundreds of companies and organizations are working on the coming glass revolution. But here are four companies and one university that announced serious breakthroughs recently, shattering old ideas about what's possible with glass.

 

Much more in this article ... amazing what they are doing and want to do!

 

And I thought Gorilla Glass/Corning was amazing...

[Guest LilBambi]

What's So Special about iPhone 4's Aluminosilicate Glass (Tested.com)

 

What's in a piece of glass? A lot, apparently, if you're talking about new mobile phones.

 

What's in a piece of glass? A lot, apparently. Recent devices have made a big deal out of something called Gorilla glass, with the Dell Streak most famously teasing its indestructibility to great fanfare. Manufacturer Corning claims the glass can withstand nearly anything us puny humans can throw at it, and electronics makers are flocking to the screens in droves.

 

If you read the article;

...You don't need to travel much farther than your local Apple Store to find a swath of people mourning the untimely death of their iPhones, marred by a four-foot drop onto cold, hard concrete. Because we're unlikely to become less clumsy anytime soon, Corning has taken an alternate route and tried to improve the performance of the screens instead — and that's where Gorilla glass comes in.

 

So even though they don't list Apple in the list of products on their Corning Gorilla Glass website, and they don't have to apparently, Apple products apparently are using it?

 

Of course the article does say:

 

Of course, the new iPhone is promising a similar, indestructible style of screen — one that's curiously similar to Gorilla glass.

 

Edited April 28, 2012 by LilBambi

[Guest LilBambi]

MIT Researchers Invent 'Perfect Glass' [VIDEO] - IBTimes

 

Ever since Apple asked Corning to build scratchless glass screens for the original iPhone, the development of glass has been a major focus in the technology world. Scientists continue to improve the glass-making process, devising new ways to make it thinner but stronger. Yet, glass suffers from a number of other inefficiencies: It doesn't handle water well, it reflects too much light, and it creates glare.

 

What MIT is working on:

 

On Thursday, researchers at MIT announced a major breakthrough in glass-making technology, which basically involves a new way to create surface textures on glass to eliminate all of the drawbacks of glass, including unwanted reflections and glare. In fact, this new "multifunctional" glass is not only crystal clear -- unlike all other glass, which is reflective by nature -- but it also causes water droplets to bounce right off its surface, "like tiny rubber balls."

 

The glass is self-cleaning, anti-reflective, and superhydrophobic. If it ever gets to be as strong as Corning's Gorilla Glass, MIT will have effectively created "the perfect glass."

 

Very cool stuff! Much more in the article.

 

Can you imagine a automobile or truck that would need no windshield wipers when it rains?! Apparently that's an area they are thinking about.

[securitybreach]

Wow after reading that last article, it sounds like some really cool tech will be coming out within a couple of years!!

 

As far as the iphone screens, I know at least 6 people at work who have shattered the front or back screen on their iphones (3gs to 4s) by dropping them. There are about 3 people with shattered Android phones as well. Not saying that Android screens are better but there a lot of the waitresses/waiters at work have iphones.

 

Most the people with shattered screens still use the phones and amazing enough, they are all still functional even with completely shattered screens.

[Guest LilBambi]

Yes, it is something how even with shattered screens, the phones are still usable (as long as you can tell where stuff is )

 

Some great tech coming out between Corning, MIT, etc. in regard to glass. Totally amazing!

[V.T. Eric Layton]

Cool stuff. I'll bet there'll be big market in hurricane prone areas for some of this new type of glass. Of course, the applications for the electronics world would be awesome, too. The anti-bacterial glass sounds pretty amazing.

[Guest LilBambi]

Bet you are right Eric. Hadn't thought of that but it makes sense. All I could think of was those cars not needing windshield wipers

[Acadia]

Hmmmm .... computer chips are made from silicon which comes from sand, glass is made from sand .... don't fully understand this chemistry stuff but it looks like there is something special about one of the most common elements on this planet: sand.

 

Acadia

[Guest LilBambi]

Yes, Sand aka silica, aka silicon dioxide/SiO₂, is pretty plentiful too with all the deserts in the world.

 

Not all Sand is the same though...

 

The second most common form of sand is calcium carbonate, for example aragonite, which has mostly been created, over the past half billion years, by various forms of life like coral and shellfish. It is, for example, the primary form of sand apparent in areas where reefs have dominated the ecosystem for millions of years, like the Caribbean.

 

Nature is an awesome thing!

[V.T. Eric Layton]

The cool thing about silicon (and germanium) that make today's electronics possible is that they're halfway good at conducting and insulating electrical current flow; hence the term "semi-conductor".