Japanese Researchers Develop 'Unbreakable' Glass To Make Shatterproof Screens For Smartphones, Tablets, Laptops,

Researchers in Japan claim to have created a new kind of glass that's practically unbreakable and nearly as strong as steel.

The research team from the University of Tokyo and Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute have published their findings in the journal, Scientific Reports, reported Forbes.

Traditionally, glass is based on silica (silicon dioxide), the main component of sand. The new innovative method uses alumina, an oxide of aluminum, to create the durable glass. Mixed with silicon dioxide, it results in an exceptionally tough glass.

Other scientists have experimented with the same glass making process before, but as soon as they added the alumina to the silicon dixoide inside a container, the mixture crystallized and glass didn't form.

To get over the issue, the scientists eliminated the use of container. Instead, they used a technique called aerodynamic levitation, which uses gas to push the chemical components together. A laser was used to distribute the aluminum oxide evenly throughout the mixture. The result was a transparent glass nearly as strong as steel and iron.

The research team used the Vickers harness test - where a diamond point is pressed into a material - and found the glass was able to withstand up to 9.1GPa of pressure. Stainless steel is able to withstand between 0.7GPa and 1GPa while high carbon steel has a hardness of 3.9GPa, reported DailyMail.

According to the researchers, the newly developed 'strong' glass could be used to make break-resistant drink glasses, shatterproof screens for devices such as smartphones, tablets, laptops, and e-readers as well as stronger windows for buildings and vehicles.

"We will establish a way to mass-produce the new material shortly," Atsunobu Masuno, an assistant professor at the University of Tokyo's Institute of Industrial Science and an author on the study told the Japanese newspaper The Asahi Shimbun.

 "We are looking to commercialize the technique within five years."