Scientists from McGill University have developed new glass types inspired by layers in mollusca shells. When the glass they have developed suffer from impact, instead of destroying such a normal glass, it has resilience similar to plastic. The researchers about the project saw their new glasses as ideal for covering cellphone screens and other applications.
University researchers say that glass can be taken and laminated for strengthening, but the processes are expensive, and the damaged surface no longer offers additional protection. New glass three times stronger than normal glass while becoming five times more fracture. The glass was developed with inspiration from nature and is a glass composite and acrylic similar to Ms. Mutiara.
Mother of Mutiara is an interesting material because it is rigid like a stiff material but has soft material resistance. The structure is made with pieces of materials such as lime which is very elastic soft protein plated. As a result, the mother of pearl is a very strong structure, 3000 times harder than the material that forms composite.
The team investigated the architecture of Ms. Pearls and then replicated with glass and acrylic flakes, creating opaque and very strong ingredients. Another important aspect of this new glass is easy and cheap to produce. The result is a truly transparent composite material.
In the future, the team hopes to increase new glasses that cannot be solved by entering technology that allows glass to change property, including color, mechanics, and conductivity. Unfortunately, there is no indication when this glass can be commercialized at this time. However, with durability and transparency, it sounds like something that will be embraced by a smartphone manufacturer.