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Corning Brings Gorilla Glass To The Automotive Industry (digitaltrends.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the phones-to-cars dept.

At CES 2017, Corning has unveiled a concept car covered in Gorilla Glass. The car is augmented with the same Gorilla Glass that has protected smartphones for years, making the vehicle significantly more durable than a car wearing normal glass. Digital Trends reports: Corning's concept features hybrid Gorilla Glass on the windshield, sunroof, rear window, side windows, and the dashboard, which adds up to noticeable weight savings all around. Corning says Gorilla Glass is 30 percent lighter than the soda lime glass featured on most production vehicles, which not only improves fuel economy, it moves the center of gravity lower in the car to improve handling. In addition to the physical advantages, Gorilla Glass is also clearer than normal glass, which allows for more vibrant head-up displays, connected surfaces, and entire dashboards that function as touchscreens. That's not all though, because on the rear window, Corning slipped an electronically controlled opacity film between the layers of glass. With the push of a button, the window went from crystal clear to a dark tint. That'll surely come in hand if you feel the sudden need for privacy. "By bringing Corning Gorilla Glass to the automotive industry, Corning is delivering lighter, tougher, and more optically advantaged solutions, enabling improved fuel efficiency, and a safer, more enhanced user experience for both drivers and passengers," said Marty Curran, executive vice president at Corning. "Corning's leading position in mobile device cover glass has provided an excellent launch pad for glass solutions enabling smartphone like connectivity in cars. We are excited to be demonstrating all of these new technologies and opportunities in a custom-built connected car, shown for the first time at CES."

114 comments

  1. break safety? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Is it still able to be broken easily in an accident to get out? I thought it was a feature that you can break it to escape.

    1. Re:break safety? by pezpunk · · Score: 1

      uhm, have you ever tried doing that? tempered glass is hard as hell to shatter (unless you hit it on an edge, which wouldn't be accessable in a crashed car scenario, or unless you have a heavy, pointed object.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

      --
      i could live a little longer in this prison
    2. Re:break safety? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My thoughts similarly. Though I was wondering less about being able to intentionally break it to escape a vehicle, and more about "will this shatter and cut me to shreds if I do get into an accident?".

    3. Re:break safety? by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

      Is it still able to be broken easily in an accident to get out?

      Yes. If you make it thin enough, you can make it as weak as you want. The point is that for any desired degree of strength, Gorilla Glass will be lighter.

    4. Re:break safety? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      $3.66 on Amazon. I've also seen spring-loaded ones that do it without requiring you to break a sweat. Just press button, break window.

      These things exist, and for exactly that purpose.

    5. Re: break safety? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Those don't work for shit, only the spring loaded ones do.

    6. Re: break safety? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Auto glass also needs to break "safely" into little cubes (there's an ISO standard for quantities of each sie range) so as not do disembowel you on your way through it.

    7. Re:break safety? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I thought the point of automobile glass was to shatter.
      Would you rather go through a windshield than bounce off it? I'm thinking go through might be safer, as the shattering glass absorbs some of the energy. What do the physicists say?

    8. Re:break safety? by edtice1559 · · Score: 1

      No, the reason that it's tempered is so that, if it breaks in an accident, sharp shards don't cut you to death!

    9. Re: break safety? by KozmoStevnNaut · · Score: 2

      I'm sorry to hear about your weak-ass arms.

      --
      Eat the rich.
    10. Re:break safety? by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 2

      "I thought the point of automobile glass was to shatter"

      It doesn't shatter, it crumbles, and sticks to an internal plastic layer that prevents it from flying away.

    11. Re:break safety? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      That's only windshields. Side and rear glass is tempered, not laminated.

    12. Re:break safety? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Is it still able to be broken easily in an accident to get out? I thought it was a feature that you can break it to escape.

      You can't break it to escape, but you can break it to get inside the car. And once you're there, the dealer who sold it to you will come along and shoot you, breaking the hearts of everyone looking on.

      The article and summary don't make this clear, but it's actually Harambe Glass.

    13. Re:break safety? by godel_56 · · Score: 1

      I thought the point of automobile glass was to shatter. Would you rather go through a windshield than bounce off it? I'm thinking go through might be safer, as the shattering glass absorbs some of the energy. What do the physicists say?

      You're supposed to be wearing a seat belt, in which case your body doesn't go anywhere near the windshield.

  2. Now we can all look through cracked windscreens by caseih · · Score: 3, Informative

    Seriously, though, car windscreens are highly regulated in the US for safety reasons. Nearly all alternatives to the present windscreen glasses are banned in the US from what I understand (they certainly ban polycarbonate). Maybe Dow-Corning can get them to change this a bit to allow testing of some good alternatives.

    1. Re:Now we can all look through cracked windscreens by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      People still drive their cars with cracked windscreens with existing laminated glass...

    2. Re:Now we can all look through cracked windscreens by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      i understood the reason for safety glass is that it shatters into small cubes, which are less likely to impale occupants, and are easier to remove in surgery, and cause less damage when being removed. i believe windscreens, which are laminated safety glass, is regulated for these safety benefits. laminating and hardening may be possible, but i wonder if they can make it shatter the same?

    3. Re:Now we can all look through cracked windscreens by zAPPzAPP · · Score: 1

      There is a HUGE difference between what people can do to their own stuff and get away with and what you can sell following regulations.

    4. Re:Now we can all look through cracked windscreens by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Cars use tempered glass for the side and rear windows, so they'll shatter into the small cubes you describe. The windshield is a laminated safety glass, designed to remain intact after an impact.

    5. Re:Now we can all look through cracked windscreens by Sable+Drakon · · Score: 1

      PC is banned because at the thicknesses needed for automotive safety, it won't break safely when you need it to get clear of a burning car. It's why Soda Lime has been the only viable option thus far. But if GG is automotive safe and still allows you to break out, it's viable.

      --
      The Amarri pray for god, the Caldari pray for profit. the Gallente pray for peace, but the Minmatar pray their ships hol
    6. Re:Now we can all look through cracked windscreens by drinkypoo · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Sigh. I don't want to sound like the cock that I am, but here I am to explain why you can't have a plastic windshield. Here are just some of the many reasons.

      Reason 1: It gets scratched easily. This is the only reason you need; plastic windshields are incompatible with windshield wipers. This is not a problem in racing because you can just replace them.

      Reason 2: If it breaks, it breaks into big sharp pieces that can impale people.

      Reason 3: In a fire, plastic is basically frozen gasoline. Even if it doesn't catch on fire, you are sad when it melts, falls into the cabin, and forms itself to your face.

      Reason 4: In a crash, the windshield has to transmit a shocking amount of force. Up to 40% of the energy of a front end collision is transferred through the windshield. After some of that energy is transferred into the roof, which deforms, the rest of it is dissipated by the breaking windshield.

      The only concern here is whether gorilla glass will break into enough pieces when it breaks (like safety glass) because it absolutely meets all the other requirements.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    7. Re:Now we can all look through cracked windscreens by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The existing windscreens get a nice dimple dent when hit by human heads.
      In Australia existing windscreens protect against Kangaroos and drop bears and the occasional pedestrian walkover brick.
      I doubt the new glass is as good. Have they simulated human head contact?

    8. Re:Now we can all look through cracked windscreens by Mashiki · · Score: 2

      It's not the "breakout" option, that's the real reason it's banned. It's because the vehicle windshield and other glass windows are a component of the energy absorption system in a crash. A glass that's too ridged will transfer it's energy in a crash which can cause serious injuries, one that's too soft will absorb too much will do the same. Both are bad scenario's in a serious crash, it's why what we have now works so well.

      --
      Om, nomnomnom...
    9. Re:Now we can all look through cracked windscreens by kanweg · · Score: 1

      > Have they simulated human head contact?

      Simulation? There's tons of real data! Have you never seen a smartphone held to the head of the caller?

      Bert

    10. Re:Now we can all look through cracked windscreens by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Reason 3: In a fire, plastic is basically frozen gasoline. Even if it doesn't catch on fire, you are sad when it melts, falls into the cabin, and forms itself to your face.

      Yes, this frequently makes me sad.

    11. Re:Now we can all look through cracked windscreens by Aighearach · · Score: 1

      You're casually throwing around this term "banned," but that might not actually be true. Especially since it is just coming from your "understanding," which is code for you don't know.

      Not only are alternatives legal, in most States you can even duct tape a piece of home window glass to the top of the hood and be street legal!

      From a manufacturing perspective there are very very few rules. Don't just wave your hands and presume that because you heard there are lots of safety rules, they must tell you exactly how to do everything. That isn't how it works. Very very few parts have specific requirements that tell you what technology to use. Things like the windshield, what they actually define is the amount of permissible entry into the "windshield area" that is allowed during a crash test. They also have rules for windshield mounting; it has to survive the test with at least some percent of the periphery attached.

      Having lots of regulations does not mean that they tell you how you have to do it, or that you can't use new technologies, or that new technologies would need a rules change. The vast majority of whining about regulations is not even based on the actual regulations, but on very general political posturing.

      The reasons you don't know what rule would need to be changed are twofold: you don't know the rules, and there is no rule that would need changing.

      The Feds don't care if you windshield is made of Plasteel or transparent aluminum, they care about when the insurance company test center smashes the vehicle, does the windshield stay mounted, and do other parts of the vehicle poke through it?

      If you had magic pixie dust to protect the windshield, you'd just need to have the crash tests done to get certified.

    12. Re:Now we can all look through cracked windscreens by Coren22 · · Score: 1

      The Amarri pray for god, the Caldari pray for profit. the Gallente pray for peace, but the Minmatar pray their ships hol

      Amarr is missspelled, dropping the extra i might allow you to fit the d dropped from the end. Otherwise, a very funny sig.

      --
      APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
    13. Re:Now we can all look through cracked windscreens by Sable+Drakon · · Score: 1

      The plural of Amarr is Amarri, and the dropped 'D' is partially intentional. Matari vessels are collections of rust plates and duct tape after all, they don't hold together well.

      --
      The Amarri pray for god, the Caldari pray for profit. the Gallente pray for peace, but the Minmatar pray their ships hol
    14. Re:Now we can all look through cracked windscreens by Coren22 · · Score: 1

      I don't see anywhere online stating that Amarri is the plural of Amarr, and it would be inconsistent as Amarr is already a plural in many usages in the game.

      --
      APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
    15. Re:Now we can all look through cracked windscreens by Whorhay · · Score: 1

      I heard something about this somewhere months ago. If irc they were planning on only using gorilla glass for the outside layer of glass. They needed the interior layer to still be the standard soda glass to keep the glass from deforming under air pressure. So the way it fractures might not be as much of an issue as the glass which is likely to be exposed to the passengers in an accident is the same as ever.

  3. Privacy? by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

    In a car that's not allowed. It will only attract more attention from the cops.

    --
    “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    1. Re:Privacy? by sound+vision · · Score: 1

      how a nigga gonna roll da blunt doe

    2. Re:Privacy? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think it's less about privacy and more about keeping your eyesight when someone behind you throws on their highbeams.

    3. Re:Privacy? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      High beams are bad, but it's more common for people to have headlights that aren't aimed legally. Which, to be fair, is hard to do as the statute isn't defined clearly. But, if you're in a car with somebody's headlights in your eyes, it's usually because they aren't aimed correctly.

  4. Not sure about the rest, but... by msauve · · Score: 2

    if a GG windshield means fewer "sand pits" (which I find annoying when driving into the sun) over the years, I'm in.

    --
    "National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
    1. Re:Not sure about the rest, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Years? Months in Colorado

    2. Re:Not sure about the rest, but... by El+Cubano · · Score: 2

      if a GG windshield means fewer "sand pits" (which I find annoying when driving into the sun) over the years, I'm in.

      My three year old car has nearly a dozen nicks and chips just on the hood, front spoiler, and leading edge of the roof panel. I would love to see a GG-like film that can be used to coat every painted/moulded surface on the vehicle. I am also tired of the chips taken out of my door by idiots in parking lots who can't be courteous enough to be careful when opening their doors to or to remind their kids to be careful. I can't believe that in 2016 we don't have automotive paints or other films that can stand up to serious abuse.

    3. Re:Not sure about the rest, but... by msauve · · Score: 2

      Get a wrap, or paint protection film.


      (disclaimer: I do own a bit of 3M stock, but it's because they make a lot of useful and popular stuff like the above)

      --
      "National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
    4. Re:Not sure about the rest, but... by QuasiEvil · · Score: 1

      Hell, sometimes not even months. Bought a new truck in Denver late July and had a crack across the windshield from a rock before I even got it home. Less than 100 miles on it and a broken windshield already. And of course, because it's a 2017 and a new body style, you can only get the glass from the manufacturer at a hefty price ($900, all said and done). I would happily pay double for a windshield that wouldn't break every time a rock hit it, particularly since CDOT thinks spreading small sharp rocks all over the road is an acceptable substitute for adequate plowing and/or salt.

    5. Re:Not sure about the rest, but... by Solandri · · Score: 3, Informative

      Your front windshield is already tempered. This provides much more resistance to chipping and breaking than the glass formulation. Basically, the glass is cooled in a way that the exterior is always in compression (glass is really, really strong in compression). This means when a rock hits your windshield, the force it imparts has to first overcome the glass' innate compression, before it can start to create tensile stresses and have a chance to chip or shatter the glass.

      Smarter Every Day has a pretty good explanation of how tempering strengthens the glass. In the case of Price Rupert's drops, there's a weak point in the tail, but the exterior is strong enough to shatter lead bullets. For a plate windshield glass, the weak points are all internal and it's most vulnerable to impacts inwards from the edges.

    6. Re:Not sure about the rest, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What's a sand pit?

    7. Re:Not sure about the rest, but... by BitZtream · · Score: 0, Interesting

      Exactly the opposite. The first chip you get is going to nearly instantly spider across the entire surface.

      GG is super scratch resistent ... and as such, brittle as fuck, hence why your smart phone doesn't scratch ... instead it just shatters.

      --
      Persistent Volume manager for Kubernetes - https://github.com/dwimsey/openshift-pvmanager
    8. Re:Not sure about the rest, but... by msauve · · Score: 1

      Don't know much about Gorilla Glass, do you? It's a step beyond ordinary tempered soda-lime glass. One of its claimed characteristics is better scratch resistance. I haven't seen claims about resistance to pitting, but it's reasonable to believe it's better for that, too.

      --
      "National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
    9. Re:Not sure about the rest, but... by Anne+Thwacks · · Score: 1
      What's a sand pit?

      A place where children can make sand castles.

      --
      Sent from my ASR33 using ASCII
    10. Re:Not sure about the rest, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Kind of like my cellphone? No, wait... definitely scratched, chipped and pitted... but no huge breaks.

    11. Re:Not sure about the rest, but... by CCarrot · · Score: 1

      Get a wrap, or paint protection film.

      (disclaimer: I do own a bit of 3M stock, but it's because they make a lot of useful and popular stuff like the above)

      Umm...I came here looking to crack a joke about needing a screen protector for your car, and find this.

      It is truly a strange world we live in...and now I find myself thinking about putting these things on my pretty new Murano... :S

      --
      "I love animals! Some are cute, others are tasty, what's not to like?" - Betsy Schroeder, Jeopardy contestant
    12. Re:Not sure about the rest, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That glass may be tempered, but front windshields are not tempered because the tiniest chip or crack would cause the entire pane to shatter into tiny pieces; instead, they are made of laminated glass.

    13. Re: Not sure about the rest, but... by Bruha · · Score: 1

      Sick of the crap they put down. Found out it's only 50 a year for 0 deduct on the comprehensive. They need to filter their sand and stop these 3rd parties that are just dumping dirt and rock. CDOT needs an ass kicking.

    14. Re: Not sure about the rest, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      nice luxury Juke you got there...

    15. Re:Not sure about the rest, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Incorrect. Front windshields are both tempered and laminated.

      The tempering means that when the glass breaks, it tends to break into rounded or squared off little pieces. This is due to induced internal stresses in the glass that are a direct result of the tempering. The crucial advantage here is that untempered glass tends to shatter and produce a lot of large pieces, many of which are long and narrow. Think knife or sword shaped, and just as dangerous. Tempered glass fragments still have sharp edges but their small size and low weight dramatically reduces the danger to vehicle occupants and bystanders.

      The lamination helps to keep the shattered glass together. I believe that lamination also increases the strength and resistance of the glass to shattering in the first place (I'd need to confirm this). It is certainly true that "bulletproof" and "hurricane resistant" glass are laminated as a way of increasing the strength and resistance of these products. When you laminate glass with plastic, you create a boundary layer which means that a pane of glass can break on one side of the plastic, but the plastic itself does not have the brittle character of the glass. Thus the plastic can (potentially) stop the cracks from propagating through the entire assembly. It all depends of course on how much force is applied, relative to the strength and thickness of the window assembly.

    16. Re:Not sure about the rest, but... by Coren22 · · Score: 1

      If all the cell phones with it are any indication, the gorilla glass will be more fragile than regular glass due to how thin it is made.

      --
      APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
    17. Re:Not sure about the rest, but... by Whorhay · · Score: 1

      I watched the bullet video a few days ago and it's pretty entertaining stuff. I also saw a video where some guy put a small drop in a hydraulic press and it took about 20 tons of force to make it pop. The drop actually left relatively deep indentations in both the steel plate and cylinder used in the video.

  5. Next: Windshields as whiteboards by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Take your meetings with you. Don't involve the driver, but if you really need him, put the car in autopilot -- and find a rest area for a parking spot. Proceed with the discussion over coffee, from that roadside drive-thru. Let the car parallel park itself.

  6. Thinner and thinner by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Are we going to have to worry about our cars shattering from sitting in them? From a high-speed pebble spiderwebbing the entire windshield because repairs are less expensive than a full replacement?

  7. No hot car by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    On a sunny day, when you park your car, the opaque function would turn on. No more hot cars.

    1. Re:No hot car by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Would work best if opaque AND reflective. But then of course you would blind the drivers and pedestrians behind you. Opaque black would be a great solar absorber to warm up the car in the winter.

  8. awesome by bobmajdakjr · · Score: 1

    lean against the car, 100% of the body spiderweb shatters.

  9. that's retarded by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    you don't want unbreakable glass anywhere but on the windscreen because you need to get out somehow if the doors aren't an option in an emergency.

    1. Re:that's retarded by amRadioHed · · Score: 1

      Well we're in luck, Gorilla Glass isn't unbreakable.

      --
      We hope your rules and wisdom choke you / Now we are one in everlasting peace
  10. This will be a variant on the existing windscreens by dbIII · · Score: 4, Informative

    The existing windscreens are a "sandwich" of glass and a soft plastic that keeps the glass in place when it shatters. A gorilla glass alternative would be replacing the glass layers but not the entire thing.

    Also when polycarbonate breaks it can have sharp edges so 100% polycarbonate in a windscreen is almost as bad an idea as 100% glass.

  11. Oh goodie! A new line of accessories! by p51d007 · · Score: 1

    Screen protectors for your windshield, rear & side windows... Hey, it worked for the crazy phone people sticking those things on GLASS, so why wouldn't the same thing work for automobiles? I've had smartphones since 2010, had 4 of them, never had a screen protector...never had one with a scratch!

    1. Re:Oh goodie! A new line of accessories! by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Screen protectors for your windshield, rear & side windows... Hey, it worked for the crazy phone people sticking those things on GLASS, so why wouldn't the same thing work for automobiles?

      They actually have glass screen protectors now, made out of gorilla glass to protect your gorilla glass. The problem with large screen protectors is the virtual impossibility of installing them without trapping dust beneath them. It would make more sense just to retrofit a new windshield, which is a relatively simple job.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  12. And the price is? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    By bringing Corning Gorilla Glass to the automotive industry, Corning is delivering lighter, tougher, and more optically advantaged solutions, enabling improved fuel efficiency, and a safer, more enhanced user experience for both drivers and passengers,"

    What about the cost?

    1. Re:And the price is? by lxs · · Score: 3, Informative

      It turns out that putting out a press release like this is considerably cheaper than buying ads.
      Or do you mean the cost of the glass?

  13. What about in a accident? by humptheElephant · · Score: 1

    Could one be trapped in an accident and you can't break the glass. Some windows now are pretty tough to break now, with this new glass I could see people possibly getting trapped if they can't get the doors open or break the windows to climb out. As far as having the ability to darken the rear window should be a non issue, lots of vehicles don't have windows in the rear. However, side windows would certainly be a no no.

    1. Re:What about in a accident? by ledow · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Don't believe the hype, Gorilla Glass shatters like anything else. And a windscreen is a hard piece of glass to break, or it wouldn't be any use whatsoever. Stones flying at your face at 120+mph combined barely chip normal windscreen glass. You aren't going to punch your way out of the front screen, even if you're Arnie. Maybe the side windows, if you have the right tool and arm-swing enough to use it.

      The reality, as always, is that the chances of you being in a situation where you need to break the glass are VASTLY outweighed by the stuff that the glass being tough saves you from.

      Everybody might have their plan to cut seatbelts and smash glass after waiting for water pressure to equalise (RUBBISH! DON'T WAIT FOR IT TO SINK AT ALL!) to escape after driving off a bridge into a river, but it's a vanishingly rare scenario and most people in it won't be able to, or would even know, what to do anyway. For a start, your airbag will probably knock you unconscious before anything else.

      All Gorilla Glass does, though, it let you lose weight and retain the same strength. It still has to shatter, not splinter, and withstand the same design forces and no more. It just means it can be thinner/lighter and do the same job.

    2. Re:What about in a accident? by rednip · · Score: 2

      A quick google will show dozens of videos of people trying to break glass out of car windows using hammers. It's clearly not as easy as you seem to think, nor is breakable glass considered to be a safety feature. Sure there may be a few edge cases where it might come in 'handy', but overall it's better to have stronger glass than weaker, not even by a little bit.

      --
      The force that blew the Big Bang continues to accelerate.
    3. Re:What about in a accident? by 140Mandak262Jamuna · · Score: 1

      I agree it is hype. But I was under the impression "shatter, do not splinter" is old. And that present day windshields are two pieces of glass sandwiching a tough layer of plastic in the middle. Thus it shatters, but the pieces do not fly everywhere. They all get stuck to the plastic. Or plastic is old, and shatter is new?

      --
      sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
    4. Re:What about in a accident? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A quick google will show dozens of videos of people trying to break glass out of car windows using hammers. It's clearly not as easy as you seem to think, nor is breakable glass considered to be a safety feature. Sure there may be a few edge cases where it might come in 'handy', but overall it's better to have stronger glass than weaker, not even by a little bit.

      I believe you need a speciality hammer like this link I had thought those worked or some other small specialty tool. I remember a mythbusters underwater special.

    5. Re:What about in a accident? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Use something ceramic and it shatters easily, like a used spark plug.

    6. Re:What about in a accident? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You absolutely wait for it to sink. That stupidity alone invalidates the rest of your comment.

    7. Re:What about in a accident? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Speaking from the unfortunate experience of having drowned my car in a flash flood.

      You're right... You won't be able to hold your breath long enough for the pressure to equalize. You won't be able to open the doors once the car goes in the water, but you can open the windows so long as they're above water, so do so immediately, and GTFO...

    8. Re:What about in a accident? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Its not the material that makes it shatter easily. A spark plug, even an old metallic one, will shatter a window because of the force concentrated to a specific point. Glass is strong across a large surface area, which is why a hammer and above won't easily break a window. But when you get to the size of a spark plug, the force is concentrated which causes the glass to weaken internally which then breaks in the path of least resistance (within the impurities when the glass was made), or the spider web pattern you typically see. For giggles, take a nail to a window and you can break it even easier.

      -dk

    9. Re:What about in a accident? by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      I was under the impression "shatter, do not splinter" is old. And that present day windshields are two pieces of glass sandwiching a tough layer of plastic in the middle. Thus it shatters, but the pieces do not fly everywhere. They all get stuck to the plastic.

      Both things are true. They shatter into a zillion pieces of glass, most of which remain stuck to the plastic. This is still safer than turning into several long knives stuck to a sheet of plastic.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    10. Re:What about in a accident? by Shados · · Score: 3, Funny

      From what I've seen, all you need is ask a 16 years old girl to be really careful with the window because it's expensive. She'll break it within minutes.

      At least that seems to be the case of every other thing with gorilla glass. Should work here too.

    11. Re:What about in a accident? by pezpunk · · Score: 1

      breakability is not a safety feature.

      --
      i could live a little longer in this prison
    12. Re:What about in a accident? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      in a modern car, nobody is opening the windows once the electrical system fails from water.
      and there are plenty of luxury cars that will make opening the door harder because the windows roll up into a "pocket". pulling the door handle triggers the window to roll down slightly, close it and it rolls back into the pocket. no power and now you have to push it out of the pocket.

    13. Re:What about in a accident? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ... after waiting for water pressure to equalize ...

      The whole point of smashing the glass is avoiding the delay caused by unequal pressure on the doors and windows.

      ... or would even know, what to do anyway.

      Car safety lessons should include the theory on escaping from a sinking or upside-down car. Frequently, the doors are jammed shut or are too heavy to push upwards from a seated position. There's also the problem of getting one's body weight off the skull and climbing out of the seat-belt straps.

    14. Re:What about in a accident? by edtice1559 · · Score: 1

      This happens in very few cars. Usually only ones with convertible tops. Fortunately if you have the top open and drive into water, you don't need to open the windows to get out.

    15. Re:What about in a accident? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      there is no hype. everything they said is qualitatively true. you just made some negative and erroneous translation because you are a critical asshole.

    16. Re:What about in a accident? by PPH · · Score: 1

      Use an automatic center punch. I hesitated at posting this for about a second. But all car thieves know this trick already.

      --
      Have gnu, will travel.
    17. Re:What about in a accident? by ledow · · Score: 2

      *COUGH*

      Please reverse the target of your stupidity for parroting bad advice without doing ANY research:

      Only if you're ALREADY SO DEEP THAT THE WATER IS HIGH ENOUGH TO HOLD THE DOOR SHUT.

      Cars do not sink immediately. What you do is unroll the window and get out ASAP. You DO NOT wait for it to sink. In fact, what you do is MAKE it sink quicker if you have to. Unroll the window and let it go down quick but - as said, for the first long interval it will happily bob on the surface while you crawl out of the window, no harm.

      DO NOT WAIT FOR IT TO SINK. Get out.

      If you going down and the door is submerged, it will eventually open. Don't wait for that. Unroll the window and get out.

      Prats sitting in cars they could easily have escaped minutes ago because of some rumour is exactly the kind of thing that shouldn't be happening.

    18. Re:What about in a accident? by Whorhay · · Score: 1

      Making the glass shatter doesn't take that much force provided you have a proper tool for it. You want something with a fine point made of very hard steel. You can buy little spring loaded tools for this that look like a fat ball point pen. The front windscreen is a bad candidate for emergency egress because the glass even once shattered is held in place by that layer of plastic and is glued in place all around the edges. The side windows even if made of the same sandwich construction are only attached along the bottom edge and can be pushed out more readily.

  14. What's the Cost? by jaa101 · · Score: 2

    Corning isn't giving the pricing which means 99% of you can't afford it. I suspect it will be a high-end luxury car feature or option for many years until the price comes down to sane levels. Cars are way bigger than smart phones and tablets. Already some performance cars advertise thinner glass to save weight.

    1. Re:What's the Cost? by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Corning isn't giving the pricing which means 99% of you can't afford it. I suspect it will be a high-end luxury car feature or option for many years until the price comes down to sane levels.

      And as such, they will probably get it wrong. My 1997 Audi A8 has double glazing all around. It's thinner in the windows which aren't windshields. ISTR it's something called Planilux, I could look it up if it mattered. This is relevant because the windows have separated in several places, you can see bubbles forming. It's around the edge where it doesn't matter so far, but I'm glad I have a fresher car lined up.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  15. Re:This will be a variant on the existing windscre by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Polycarbonate is very soft and scratches easily making it suck for anything with wipers on it.
    Although if you used 10mm polycarbonate I seriously doubt you could ever break it.

  16. How about noise insulation? by SeaFox · · Score: 1

    Automakers are already experimenting with reducing glass thickness (where they can) to reduce weight so they can improve fuel economy without having to do any real engineering work, the result is a noisier drive because the thinner windows do not block the noise from the vehicle's surroundings as well.

    1. Re:How about noise insulation? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      which is great if all the other cars are electric.

  17. Darn! by Required+Snark · · Score: 1, Interesting

    When I read the headline, I thought that they were making the entire body of the car out of Gorilla Glass. That would be really cool.

    --
    Why is Snark Required?
  18. Even better. by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

    People should pay attention. Cars with too much noise insulation are a problem. Encourages 'head up ass' driving. Not as bad as thumping morons, but close. Disconnected.

    --
    John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
  19. Re: This will be a variant on the existing windscr by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Are you maybe thinking of acrylic?

  20. Pay Per View Dogging App? by seoras · · Score: 1

    "That's not all though, because on the rear window, Corning slipped an electronically controlled opacity film between the layers of glass. With the push of a button, the window went from crystal clear to a dark tint. That'll surely come in hand if you feel the sudden need for privacy."

    ...or not ;)

  21. How about a baby step? by cyn1c77 · · Score: 1

    I don't really need a concept car, but would be happy if we could just replace the glass in my front windshield with Gorilla glass (using the same glass-plastic-glass design), so that I do not have to replace my windshield as often from rock dings that turn into cracks?

  22. Windshield vs side windows & different cars by raymorris · · Score: 1

    The front windshield is safety glass, glass layered with plastic so that the broken pieces hang in place.

    The side windows can be either of two types. They break into small pieces, but have no plastic so all the little pieces fall into the seat cracks, under the seat, wedge at the edge of the floormat, in the door pockets, in the cracks of the dash ... On some cars, a light tap on the edge, such as from using a coat-hanger type tool to try to unlock the door, will cause it to shatter this way. A year later you'll still be picking little pieces of glass from confined spaces in the car. Ask me how I know this.

    1. Re:Windshield vs side windows & different cars by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      The side windows can be either of two types. They break into small pieces, but have no plastic

      Did you mean they can be either type? Because the side windows in luxury cars do commonly have a plastic film in them. It's how they achieve "double glazing" without actually having an airspace between two panes of glass.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  23. Crash Worthy ? by JimSadler · · Score: 1

    How does gorilla glass behave in a wreck in which the window is broken? For example current safety glass does not tend to shatter in shards big enough to cut your throat but the gooey center between the layers holds smaller pieces of glass that can act like a belt sander with big chunks of glass ripping your face off. Ideally safety glass would become granular and harmless when shattered.

  24. Touchscreen dashboard? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    My cars CD players LCD screen freezes at -15C ... I wonder if the touchscreen would work in -24C we had yesterday.

  25. I am worried by LordHighExecutioner · · Score: 1

    if smartphone-related industries bring their innovations into the automotive industry, we should be scared about what Samsung could do...

    1. Re:I am worried by freeze128 · · Score: 1

      We could only hope. There is still very little Android Auto integration in new vehicles. It's been what, 10 years now?

  26. Re: Now we can all look through cracked windscreen by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Also, it needs to be breakable for extraction.

  27. Re: This will be a variant on the existing windscr by dbIII · · Score: 1

    It is a LOT tougher than acrylic but it still cracks as a brittle fracture under enough of an impact.

  28. electric window ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    "That's not all though, because on the rear window, Corning slipped an electronically controlled opacity film between the layers of glass. With the push of a button, the window went from crystal clear to a dark tint. That'll surely come in hand if you feel the sudden need for privacy."

    In addition to darkening, can they should make the rear window able to flash "Keep Right Except to Pass" in bright yellow text. And maybe even "Use Your Turn Signal", or "That Stop Sign You Just Rolled Through Was Not Just A Suggestion".

    Those being just a few of many I'd like to suggest.

  29. I see what u did there by cellocgw · · Score: 1

    From the summary:

    That'll surely come in hand if you feel the sudden need for privacy.

    Ok, then.

    --
    https://app.box.com/WitthoftResume Code: https://github.com/cellocgw
  30. It's bitztream by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    the autism-hating, custom EpiPen-hating, Musk-hating Slashdot troll!

  31. Great, just great by CCarrot · · Score: 1

    FTS

    In addition to the physical advantages, Gorilla Glass is also clearer than normal glass, which allows for more vibrant head-up displays, connected surfaces, and entire dashboards that function as touchscreens.

    Dammit, I can't keep up with cleaning the fingerprints off of a 100 cm2 surface, what am I gonna do with a couple of square meters...?

    --
    "I love animals! Some are cute, others are tasty, what's not to like?" - Betsy Schroeder, Jeopardy contestant
  32. Nice! by nospam007 · · Score: 1

    A Gorilla on the windows, a Tiger in the tank and a Monkey behind the wheel, ready for the asphalt-jungle.

  33. Automotive industry by gringer · · Score: 1

    Corning Brings Gorilla Glass To The Automotive Industry

    Great. I wonder if they'd be interested in expanding to other industries, like food for example. I'm sure there'd be plenty of applications in the food industry for strong glass.

    --
    Ask me about repetitive DNA
  34. Screen protector by cobester · · Score: 1

    Great! Now I'll need to buy a screen protector for my windshield to protect it.

  35. So... by BitztreamNotARealNam · · Score: 1

    How's life in the hypocrite lane?

  36. Slow Glass by mcswell · · Score: 1

    But when will they bring out Slow Glass?

  37. Windows have been getting heavier by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Not for safety, but for noise reduction. Most cars these days have windshield and side glass thicker, and most importantly heavier than previous generations for reducing noise coming into the cabin. Not just the cars own radiated noise, but other vehicles as well. Electric vehicles at least don't have the engine noise, but wind noise and tire noise are strong contributors.

  38. How does one break it? by jraff2 · · Score: 1

    We have emergency tools with hammers, cutters and sharp point to break the older tempered glass, Now how will one break this new Gorilla glass? Or will one need an explosive to break it?