Corning Gorrila Glass, I'd love for them to make aquariums

[Prometheus]

My dad mentioned this company to me, they make a new type of glass that is being used in a large number of electronic devices today. It's called Gorilla Glass and it's made by a company called Corning. Go read the Frequently Asked Questions page on their website. If they ever decide to make aquariums, in addition to their catering to the electronics market, I would not be surprised if they put all other aquarium manufacturers that are out their today out of business... including Starphire.

So if you are impressed with them, please, feel free to email them and tell them you would like to see them branch out into the aquarium manufacturing market. If enough people email them, that possibly can be taken by the company as an indication that there is a great enough demand out there for them to meet that demand with supply - and actually supply us with the best aquariums we've ever used! There is mention on their web site that they are looking for more potential markets.

here's a link to their website:

http://www.corninggorillaglass.com/

[JshineTX84]

I think that perhaps the thing they specialize in is thin glass and not necessarily super strong glass. I'm not sure that it would scale up very well, but a large rimless tank with thin glass would be amazing.

[Prometheus]

they have a section explaining the process of how they make it, from what i understand they basically take a sheet of their glass and submerse it in a solution heated up to 400 C. what follows is a ion exchange where a large amount of extra ions are absorbed deep into the glass sheet- more so than it normally would have when at room temperature- so when it is removed from the solution and cools all those extra ions are compressed against each other -and the other atoms the glass is made of- creating a huge amount of tension, instead of being unstable it makes it rigid (that might be the right word), so not only can it be made incredibly thin (thinner than a dime in some cases) it is also quite strong.

[DarkCobra]

Interesting. I wonder if this treatment significantly increases the index of refraction, or if there's a limit to the thickness of glass that can be treated?

[xmas_one]

Not applicable for aquarium use. This is a design for small, thin, non-loadbearing panels.

[Moody636]

After clicking on the "is it on yours?" link I was surprised to see my phone (Samsung captivate) featured. I never installed a screen protector and I still don't have any scratches. I can definitely vouch for the quality.

Too bad its not designed for load bearing.

Sent from my AK-47 using Tapatalk

[boringname]

Maybe thick glass wouldn't absorb the ions deep enough into the material to work.

[soc200]

I believe you underestimate how expensive this material is to work with. I believe aquariums would cost thousands of dollars each...for a 10 gallon.

[Sharkfood]

I've always wondered why no one mass produces 1 piece glass or acrylic aquariums. Seems like they would be stronger to me.

[OverStocked]

Originally Posted by Sharkfood

I've always wondered why no one mass produces 1 piece glass or acrylic aquariums. Seems like they would be stronger to me.

Cost.

[Prometheus]

oh wow! on Corning's site they have a time line of their company's major events; this is the company that made the mirror blank for the Hale telescope up on Mt. Palomar back in 1935. at the time it was the world's largest piece of glass, it measures 200 inches across. i watched the better part of a documentary on the construction of it, it's really interesting actually. the first lens got ruined. the second one was placed in a special cooling chamber to be brought down a few degrees at a time over the course of a year to ensure it wouldn't crack! seems like i remember for some reason they were in a hurry and took it out early, still managed to be okay though. maybe im just a sucker for science but i thought it was an awesome documentary.

and ya, xmas one, i think you are right. pretty sure i read on there somewhere that the thickest it can be is 2mm. oh well. it's still a great idea, but i guess they either can't or don't have enough demand to bother making it significantly thicker.

[Prometheus]

oh... Corning cookware.... the company that makes PYREX cooking stuff. ya, that's this company.

[OverStocked]

Originally Posted by Prometheus

oh... Corning cookware.... the company that makes PYREX cooking stuff. ya, that's this company.

Most pyrex kitchenware is made by a different company. Corning makes the labware still, but the other stuff is made by World Kitchen, LLC.

This is Justin's Random google fact of the day!