Japanese scientists will make mobile’s screen as strong as cast iron

Researchers at the University of Tokyo's Institute of Industrial Science Japan have created a new type of glass that is ultra-hard and equals in strength with cast iron. This glass will be available to use in buildings, cars, and even gadgets like smartphones and tablets.

The new type of glass is as light and thin as regular glass. But the difference is, according to Forbes, the regular glass is mainly made of silica while this new glass is based on aluminum oxide called alumina.

Alumina is commonly used in the glass mix to produce the harder glass. The more amount of alumina added into the glass mix, the harder the glass will be obtained.

But the problem is, when the glass mix contains too much alumina, the production process will meet the challenge on melting the mix.

Alumina has a higher melting temperature than silica. In addition, when processed into glass using a container, alumina has the tendency to start forming crystals that disrupt the glass formation.

The Japanese scientists have been able to eliminate the problem by manufacturing the glass using a levitation, without any containers.

The production was conducted by using oxygen to levitate the ingredients mix including a large amount of alumina at high pressure and temperature, and melt the mix with lasers. The process obtained tiny spheres of super glass containing 50% alumina.

The glass was tested on its strength, hardness and elasticity, including Young's modulus and Vickers method. The test revealed that the glass has Young's modulus ratings at 158.3 Gpa, the same level of cast irons. In comparison, the unbreakable Gorilla Glass 4 only has Young's ratings at 65.9 Gpa.

But the glass wasn't really unbreakable. The scientists team reported that some samples of glass showed radial cracks after the team applied various forces to the glass. The cracks extended outward from the hitting point like a spider web.

Atsunobu Masuno, an assistant professor of the Institute of Industrial Science, the University of Tokyo, stated that the newly developed glass is not unbreakable but ultra hard, according to Mashable. He asserted that unbreakable and hard are totally different.

Masuno added that the scientists don't think that the new glass will prevent cell phone screens from cracking. He also disproved the idea that the University of Tokyo's new glass is better than chemically strengthened Gorilla Glass 4.

The Japanese scientists are now working on a way to bring the ultra-hard glass to market by establishing a way to a mass production shortly, according to International Business Time.

The scientists are focusing on how to turn the ultra-hard tiny crystals into sheets of super glass. They look to commercialize the technique within five years.