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That "Unbreakable" Glass That's "As Strong As Steel" Isn't Either

Posted by samzenpus on from the you-keep-using-that-word dept.

TheAlexKnapp writes: A number of stories about a new paper in Scientific Reports claim that it describes an "unbreakable" glass that's as "strong as steel." In a report about the paper for Forbes, Carmen Drahl notes that these claims are exaggerated. But that doesn't mean that the researchers haven't produced a promising material. From Carmen's story: "According to their calculations, this glass performed about as well as a heavy duty commercial glass. What this report describes isn't some miracle material, but a well-above-average performing glass that seems promising on a tiny scale."

6 of 74 comments (clear)

  1. Well, was it stronger than steel? by tomhath · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Was the glass stronger than steel? Here, the question is what strength means, and what was actually measured. In this case, the researchers measured the glass’s rigidity and its resistance to being pushed on by something else. In both cases, the new glass outperformed most other types of glass, but it wasn’t exactly indestructible.

    She never answered the question. Steel isn't "indestructible" either.

    1. Re:Well, was it stronger than steel? by dbIII · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Well, was it stronger than steel?

      Very likely yes, but that doesn't matter because nearly every glass is stronger than nearly every steel under ideal conditions. What usually matters is toughness since most glasses can't take much of an impact.

      If it's just pure load and the surface of the glass is perfectly smooth with not much in the way of internal defects then you can sit something on top of a block of glass that would damage a block of steel. In tension it's often stronger as well - unless a tiny scratch opens up into a crack and then it's going to break at a low load.
      That's why glass is used as reinforcing in "fibreglass" plastics - strong and the brittleness doesn't matter so much when the fibre diameter is about the size of a critical crack and the plastic is there to absorb the energy of impacts.

    2. Re:Well, was it stronger than steel? by coldsalmon · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Glass was always "stronger" than steel in that it will take more stress without bending. Glass will just shatter, whereas steel will bend but not break. Glass has more "strength," but steel has more "toughness." An article at Popular Science explores this distinction: "Strength refers to how much force a material can take before it deforms. Toughness explains the energy required to fracture or break something." The article is from 2011, and is entitled "NEW METALLIC GLASS BEATS STEEL AS THE TOUGHEST, STRONGEST MATERIAL YET."

  2. Puffery ... by gstoddart · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Bah, pretty much any time a company says something isn't "un-anythingable" it's lying.

    Unsinkable. Unbreakable. Unbendable. Un-non-inflammable (because those of us old enough don't know what it means).

    I usually assume these claims are marketing crap, and therefore fairly meaningless.

    --
    Lost at C:>. Found at C.
  3. Re:What are the actual test results? by trout007 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The glass cracked on an impact tester. Steel dents.

    That depends on the steel. High strength steels have yield strengths very close to their ultimate strengths and tend to crack and not dent.

    --
    I love Jesus, except for his foreign policy.
  4. Claims aligned with fabrication and measurement by DavidMZ · · Score: 3, Funny

    According to TFA:

    "In this work, we report a 54Al2O3-46Ta2O5 glass fabricated by aerodynamic levitation"

    "Analysis made using 27Al Magic Angle Spinning Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (MAS NMR) spectroscopy"

    And that's just in the first paragraph! Made by levitation, tested by Magic, it can be "as strong as steel"!