Corning's Gorrilla Glass 4 can survive being dropped onto concrete from 1m


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It is the biggest problem smartphone owners face - smashed screens from dropping their handset.

However, Corning, the firm behind the displays in phones from Apple, Samsung and others, has revealed a new version of it's 'Gorilla Glass' it says is twice as  strong.

Gorilla Glass 4 passed Corning's meter-high drop test about 80 percent of the time, and it already on its way to manufacturers, the firm said.

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To test the glass, Corning scientists examined hundreds of broken devices and found that damage caused by sharp contact accounted for more than 70 percent of field failures.

To test the glass, Corning scientists examined hundreds of broken devices and found that damage caused by sharp contact accounted for more than 70 percent of field failures.

THE ULTIMATE DROP TEST

To test the glass, Corning scientists examined hundreds of broken devices and found that damage caused by sharp contact accounted for more than 70 percent of field failures. 

The scientists then developed new drop-test machines that simulate real-world break events, based on thousands of hours analyzing cover glass that had broken in the field or laboratory. 

The scientists used the new methods to drop devices face down from one meter, ensuring the cover glass directly contacted a rough surface when it landed. 

 'The new Gorilla Glass 4 has been formulated to address consumers' number one issue – screen breakage from everyday drops,' the firm says. 

'Corning Gorilla Glass has outperformed competing materials, such as soda-lime glass and other strengthened glass, since it was introduced in 2007, and we're always innovating to push the limits of what glass can do,' said James R. Steiner of Corning.

'With Gorilla Glass 4, we have focused on significantly improving protection against sharp contact damage, which is the primary reason that mobile devices break. 

'Dropping and breaking a phone is a common problem, and one that our customers have asked us to help address.'

To test the glass, Corning scientists examined hundreds of broken devices and found that damage caused by sharp contact accounted for more than 70 percent of field failures. 

The scientists then developed new drop-test machines that simulate real-world break events, based on thousands of hours analyzing cover glass that had broken in the field or laboratory. 

The scientists used the new methods to drop devices face down from one meter, ensuring the cover glass directly contacted a rough surface when it landed. 

Over 40 manufacturers have designed Gorilla Glass into a total of 1,395 product models, and have branded Gorilla Glass touch cover glass as a key selling feature. 

Since its launch in 2007, Gorilla Glass has been featured in more than 3 billion devices.

Product sampling and shipment for Gorilla Glass 4 are under way with Corning's global customers, the firm said.

It is believed that despite problems with its processing plant, Apple still hopes to use sapphire glass in its Apple Watch and possibly in future iPhones. 

Synthetic sapphire is a hard, transparent material made of crystallising aluminium oxide, produced at high temperatures.

As the material is heated, it forms disks that can be sliced using diamond-coated saws.

These round disks are ground into shape, and polished, to become glass.

The technology is traditionally used in watch displays because it is thin, super-strong and scratch resistant.

Apple already uses sapphire crystal in the Touch ID fingerprint scanner on its latest iPhone 5S and to protects the phone's camera.

As a result, sapphire glass could potentially replace Gorilla Glass currently used in most high-end smartphones. 

ION-STRENGTHENED VERSUS SAPPHIRE GLASS

Apple uses Ion strengthened glass in its handsets.

To make ion-strengthened glass, glass is placed into a hot bath of potassium salt, typically potassium nitrate, at around 300°C (572°F).

This causes the sodium ions in the glass to migrate, which in turn causes sodium ions in the glass surface to be replaced by potassium ions from the bath solution.

The larger potassium ions in the bath squeeze themselves into the holes created by the moving sodium.

This compresses the glass, to accommodate the larger ions, which in turn makes it stronger. 

By comparison, sapphire screens are made from synthetic sapphire - a hard, transparent material made of crystallising aluminium oxide, produced at high temperatures.

As the material is heated, it forms disks that can be sliced using diamond-coated saws.

These round disks are ground into shape, and polished, to become glass. 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 



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