Posted on 07/04/2023 7:07:42 AM PDT by Jonty30
Despite its many advantages, glass has one major Achilles' heel – it’s brittle. Now, engineers at Penn State have developed LionGlass, a new type of the material that’s not only 10 times more damage resistant, but requires significantly less energy to manufacture.
The most commonly used form of glass, which you’ll find in everything from windows to drinking glasses, is technically known as soda lime silicate glass. Manufacturing this common material requires furnaces that get up to 1,500 °C (2,732 °F), which of course consumes a lot of energy and releases a huge amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. On top of that, this glass is made from quartz sand, soda ash and limestone, the latter two of which release CO2 when melted.
Now, Penn State researchers have improved the recipe to make glass that’s more environmentally friendly to produce, while also being much stronger. The family of new glass compositions, which the team calls LionGlass, get their new powers by swapping the soda ash and limestone for either aluminium oxide or an iron compound. The silica content can vary from 40% to 90% by weight.
(Excerpt) Read more at newatlas.com ...
That would be nice. It would be great for plates as well.
I found out that corning plates are very prone to exploding if they are put on a hot stove plate.
I wonder what the cost difference is and whether energy savings offset material costs.
I’ve had friends buy jeeps with Gorilla Glass which get chips and cracks. Jeep told them to contact Gorilla Glass, Gorilla Glass said their customer was Jeep..... pound sand.....
What is that glass under my desk chair?
You know...the one.
You remind us that window glass really holds up to generations of temperatures and direct sunlight, we don’t even think about the window glass in a house built in 1900, except for replacing it with 2 panes of the same permanent clear barrier for better insulation.
OMG!!! Humans remain resilient and adaptive; the very elements that have allowed them over 1,000s of years to form habitats from the equator out to the northernmost and southernmost areas on the planet. And we should be afraid of “climte change” because????
There be whales
If it is a strong and cheap to produce, there will be a market.
Since we’re on the topic of glass, the Corning Museum of Glass, in Corning, NY, is the best subject matter museum I’ve ever been to. It’s fascinating.. I used to blow glass as a hobby (too expensive to maintain), but even the rest of my family loved it. Everything from the history of glass to its production and uses, to art glass. Well worth the trip.
Thank you!
That was a lot of fun.
Red Skelton is one of my favorites.
Where can I get some for the new house I am building?
You likely just want to throw lots of stones.
“Now, Penn State researchers have improved the recipe to make glass that’s more environmentally friendly to produce, while also being much stronger. “
BS (as to the motivation). They made a glass to be stronger and noted the collateral benefit of using less energy. Then phrased the discovery as a planet saver to appear more woke.
That's a whale of a claim!
They’ve filed a patent application for the entire family of glass.
It’ll be interesting to see if they have any issues getting it.
Has anyone ever figured out why it had to be transparent?
The whales weren’t going to be in there for very long.
The transparent aluminum formula was exchanged for enough plexiglas to make the tank for the whale.
‘Transparency’ is the characteristic that makes it valuable.
Oh. I forgot that part, I’ll have to go watch it again I guess.
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