Glass has stood the test of time as the most versatile by-product of nature. Composed entirely of silica, glass has served man well for centuries. Its application of uses has included everything from dinnerware to fiber optics, electrical insulators, microchips and more. Today, glass plays a wider role in our everyday lives than ever before. We have become more dependent on glass technology as we demand excellent performance and durability out of our touch screens on mobile devices.
Corning has been the leading manufacturer of glass-based products for nearly 150 years. Today, Corning is still the leading technological glass innovator and its primary ingredient is still the ubiquitous silica. This time around, Corning is credited with the development of what it calls Gorilla Glass 3, a new age form of product being used for the fast-growing touch screen industry. Gorilla glass is being employed by smart phone, tablet and PC manufacturers utilizing touch screen technology. Gorilla glass is the result of years of Corning’s R and D department’s new technological development center. The final outcome is a glass that is incredibly thin, about ½ a millimeter thick. Yet it is stronger than glass an inch thick.
This represents Corning’s third generation of super tough glass designed to satisfy the stringent demands of touch screen mobile device manufacturers. They were given the opportunity to get an up-close look at the recent CES 2013expo that recently took place in Las Vegas. Dubbed Gorilla Glass 3, Corning proudly displayed the new material and promised it would raise the industry’s bar in touch screen technology.
The new generation of mobile device glass displays works by combining pure sand along with proprietary chemicals that creates aluminosilicate, This compound is then applied to create a special “fusion draw” process that enables the manufacturer to create wafer-thin sheets. The glass’s superior strength is attributable to liquid substance that the glass is immersed into where weaker ions are exchanged for even smaller ions that exhibit greater strength.
Naturally, a more detailed description is proprietary information that Corning does not wish to be made public. Corning has also announced that it will soon unveil a new line fiber optics cabling products. A spokesperson stated that the new product will substantially extend data transmission currently transmitting over copper.
