Gorilla glass

This is one of the coolest things I've seen in a long time. It's not even a new invention. It was first invented in 1962, but at the time was too expensive to make compared to the alternatives.

Gorilla glass would be perfect for so many things besides the cell phone screens it's starting to be used in. If it can be made cheaply enough, we finally have an answer to the problems of scratched windows on NYC's subways. We tried tempered glass first, but it was often broken by vandels. Now we're using polycarbonate, but the vandals are scratching it. Gorilla glass would be both scratch and break-proof. It also seems like a great choice for car windows, eye-protection goggles, even ordinary building windows if it can be made cost competitive. Take that, transparent aluminum!

Now that's a cool product that has waited for its "killer app" for a long time. It is probably too expensive for ordinary applications. The processes used to produce it seem to make it necessary to have to order it to size from Corning in mega qtys to be worthwhile.

It may not work for windows because it is so thin. It will flex easy and can pop right out of the frame if pushed on too hard. If it could be made to ordinary thicknesses, it would be ideal if not expensive.

Wow, very nice. I might actually consider a touch screen phone if it was made with this stuff. :naughty:

mrartillery said:

Wow, very nice. I might actually consider a touch screen phone if it was made with this stuff. :naughty:

Click to expand...

Some touch screen phones already are....

carrot said:

Some touch screen phones already are....

Click to expand...

Such as...? Do tell! :naughty:

DM51 said:

Such as...? Do tell! :naughty:

Click to expand...

I believe both the Droid and Droid X use it.

unnerv said:

I believe both the Droid and Droid X use it.

Click to expand...

I believe you're right, others might be using it as well. Cowon is using it on some of their portable media players as well, but they certainly aren't a well known brand in the US (hasn't stopped me from owning their devices).

unnerv said:

I believe both the Droid and Droid X use it.

Click to expand...

Aren't both of these through Verizon?

DM51 said:

Such as...? Do tell! :naughty:

Click to expand...

iPhone 4 immediately comes to mind. So does iPad. I'm also convinced the 3GS uses it but I have no proof.

Dell Streak also has Gorilla Glass.

I'm guessing it would be to expensive as a lens for a flashlight? As many times as someone drops or bangs their lights up against something that might be handy.

I don't think the frequency of a cracked lens on a small piece of glass as used in a flashlight is high enough to warrant using the expensive Gorilla Glass over what we currently use: Pyrex/Borofloat, UCL, sapphire. Gorilla Glass really shines in new high tech devices with huuuuge pieces of touch-screen glass where plastic isn't scratch-resistant enough and glass isn't flexible/durable enough.

Here's a list of cell phones that use Corning's Gorilla glass:

http://www.corning.com/gorillaglass/devices.aspx

It will scratch btw, and easier than you might think. I used to have a Motorola Cliq XT with Gorilla glass on it. Within 1 week of buying it I had a very noticeable scratch on the glass from keeping the phone in my jeans pocket with my car keys.

I now have another phone, the Samsung Galaxy S that also uses Gorilla glass, but this time I put a screen protector on it right away.

Is it really a glass or is it a laminate type deal? Such as bullet proof glass isn't really solid glass but a mixture of things or entirely arctic compositions or entirely polycarbonate. While it has an extremely hard surface, I'd put my reputation on the line to say it could never beat out polycarbonate in a structural integrity. However this isn't really a problem since they are using it as cell / computer screens. Not bomb proof shields.

"Gorilla Glass is an unscratchable" well it could be very scratch resistant, but I'd bet one of my flashlights, I could ruin the whole thing in one second flat with a tungsten carbide pen……

Juggernaut said:

"Gorilla Glass is an unscratchable" well it could be very scratch resistant, but I'd bet one of my flashlights, I could ruin the whole thing in one second flat with a tungsten carbide pen……

Click to expand...

Imagine the chagrin of WC ring fans. They would likely scratch anything to hell if they're ring had any edges (faceted rings have tons of those). Only a polished smooth ring is even relatively safe.

65535 said:

Imagine the chagrin of WC ring fans. They would likely scratch anything to hell if they're ring had any edges (faceted rings have tons of those). Only a polished smooth ring is even relatively safe.

Click to expand...

I never thought of that before:thinking:, better take those rings off before handling any of your lights! HA III doesn't even have a chance!

Juggernaut said:

Is it really a glass or is it a laminate type deal? Such as bullet proof glass isn't really solid glass but a mixture of things or entirely arctic compositions or entirely polycarbonate. While it has an extremely hard surface, I'd put my reputation on the line to say it could never beat out polycarbonate in a structural integrity. However this isn't really a problem since they are using it as cell / computer screens. Not bomb proof shields.

"Gorilla Glass is an unscratchable" well it could be very scratch resistant, but I'd bet one of my flashlights, I could ruin the whole thing in one second flat with a tungsten carbide pen……

Click to expand...

AFAICT, it is truly an inorganic glass like ordinary window glass, but with a different composition and it is chemically tempered to be very strong. It is not a laminate.

If the iStone 4 uses real gorilla glass, I'm not impressed at all. A bunch of those devices have cracked their backs, although it could be just tht company's poor quality and not the gorilla glass design itself.