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.
Read MoreScientists 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.
Read MoreThe 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.
Read MoreAn 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.
Read MoreResearchers 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.
Read MoreAn 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.
Read MoreScientists 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.
Read MoreTwo 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.
Read MoreIn 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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