Scientists make a new unbreakable glass based on the inside of the shell of mollusks – FayerWayer

A new material breaks onto the scene of science and can be very useful for technology. It is a glass that, unlike conventional glass, is practically unbreakable. Explain Slash gear that the components of this object are inspired by the inner part of the shells of mollusks.

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The development of this unbreakable glass is the idea of ​​a team of scientists from McGill University, located in Montreal, Canada. Experts explain that when this material suffers a strong impact, instead of breaking into pieces, as normal glass would, it acts with elasticity; a process similar to that of resistant plastics.

So, as it is still glass and can have transparent textures, they suggest that the material can be used on cell phone screens.

There are ways to make glass more impact resistant. Conventional material could be tempered and subsequently laminated. This adds a wide degree of strength, but the process is expensive and this is where the new comes in. unbreakable from McGill University.

In the comparisons they made in the laboratories, they found that the material is three times stronger than normal glass. Also, if you talk about the impacts, it is five times stronger. Gain said Stamina because it is inspired by the interior of the bark of mollusks. In addition, its main component is a combination of glass and an acrylic that imitates mother-of-pearl.

The components of the new glass

Allen Ehrlicher, associate professor in the Department of Bioengineering at McGill University, is full of praise for nature, as it was the great inspiration for his invention and has been so with many other creations of science.

“Nature is a master of design. Studying the structure of biological materials and understanding how they work provides inspiration, and sometimes blueprints, for new materials, ”explains Ehrlicher.

And in reference to the material, he states: “Surprisingly, mother-of-pearl has the firmness of a rigid material and the durability of a soft material. This gives it the best of both worlds. It is made of stiff chunks of chalk-like matter with layers of soft proteins that are highly elastic. This structure produces exceptional resistance, making it 3000 times more resistant than the materials that compose it ”.

In the first experiments, scientists took the architecture of mother-of-pearl. They then replicated it with layers of glass and acrylic flakes, to produce the extremely resistant material, but in principle opaque.

The opaque material is produced easily and inexpensively. So they focused their efforts on making the compound have the effective transparency that can be achieved with ordinary glass.

“By adjusting the refractive index of acrylic, we made it blend perfectly with the glass to make a truly transparent compound,” said another of the authors, researcher Ali Amini.

Now what is coming for this unbreakable material is to continue adding technology that makes it functional for the devices that people use on a daily basis. The main thing would be to integrate a technology that allows the glass to change its properties, such as color, mechanics and conductivity, explained McGill University in its portal.