Glass

Material scientists in China experimenting with carbon in its many forms have conjured up a form of glass so hard that it can scratch the surface of a diamond, while also having the ability to act as semiconductor.

Plastic is a lot easier to work with than glass, which is one of the reasons it's used so much more often. That may be about to change, though, thanks to a new process that allows glass to be injection-molded – just like plastic.

Mundane as it may seem, glass is a surprisingly mysterious material. Now scientists at the University of Konstanz have identified a new state of matter called liquid glass, which has some unusual properties.

Although fire-resistant windows do already exist, they contain a carcinogenic gel, plus their production generates a lot of waste. A new technology that works in the same basic fashion, however, is claimed to be much safer and less wasteful.

Of all the materials that can be 3D-printed, glass is still one of the most challenging to work with. Scientists at the ETH Zurich research center are working on changing that, though, with a new and reportedly better glass-printing technique.

Microsoft and Warner Bros. have crammed the 1978 movie Superman onto a silica glass slide the size of a drink coaster. This tough new medium is designed to last centuries, surviving punishment that would ruin film or magnetic drives.

The number of healthcare-associated urinary tract infections could soon drop dramatically, thanks to the use of special antimicrobial glass.

Scientists have developed a method of bending a single sheet of glass to a 90-degree angle.

The Window Wizard robot is designed to autonomously move across the glass while cleaning it.

​Although biometric face-recognition security tech is now becoming quite common on devices such as smartphones, it does still require a lot of processing power. In the not-too-distant future, however, the same purpose could be served by an integrated piece of analog glass.

​Although glass is thought of as being eco-friendly because it's recyclable, the fact is that a lot of it doesn't get recycled. Now, however, scientists are suggesting that glass waste could be used to make concrete that's stronger and cheaper.

Bacteria are a huge problem in hospitals, where colonies can build up on instruments and cause potentially fatal infections in vulnerable patients. Now, researchers at Aston University have developed a new type of antimicrobial material that’s made using a centuries-old stained glass technique.