Optical fiber networks form the backbones of wireless communication and data transmission, but scattering nonlinearities limit transmission. A series of four new open-access papers introduce a unified materials approach to finding new and better optical fiber glasses without intrinsic nonlinearities.
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Scientists have discovered that a brittle starfish has the capability to create a durable “tempered” ceramic material while underwater. Its process is similar to the creation of tempered glass, but without the heating and cooling process.
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The Giant Magellan Telescope, when completed and operational in 2023, will be the world’s largest telescope—but to build a giant, incredible telescope, you first need to build giant, incredible mirrors. And that process is currently underway at the Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab at the University of Arizona.
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An article recently published in The Economist science and technology section takes on a technology that most people look at everyday, yet hardly ever notice—glass.
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Researchers from Penn State University have developed a flexible optical fiber that can deliver light into the body for diagnosing disease or viewing tissue damage. It is also biodegradable, offering a number of applications for the medical industry.
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An international group of researchers has a clear idea for a solution to deliver noninvasive ultrasound brain treatment to patients—a transparent ceramic window implanted into the skull that would allow continued ultrasonic therapy delivered directly to the brain.
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Scientists are making inroads with the use of organic materials in solar cells. A research team has recently developed a pair of solar–powered glasses that could eventually power hearing aids or other mobile devices.
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MIT scientists recently reported that a novel laser-based spectroscopy technique can sensitively detect small imperfections in materials, opening new possibilities for monitoring irradiated materials in place in real time.
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Two new papers, one published in Nature and one in Advanced Materials, describe 3-D printing techniques that use silica nanoparticle inks—rather than molten glass itself—to to fabricate optically clear glass components with micrometer-scale resolution, a huge leap forward for the integration of glass materials into additive manufacturing.
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In the March 2017 issue of the International Journal of Applied Glass Science, the second part of a two-part special issue series, Marv Bolt wrote a fascinating opening article all about glass’s role as the eye of science.
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