The moment a crack forms in a piece of glass, it is prone to spread. That’s because although glass is very strong and resistant to deformation, it lacks the toughness that metals like aluminum and steel have.
Get Science News From The New York Times » Now, researchers from the California Institute of Technology and the University of California, Berkeley, report that they have devised a new type of metallic glass that is as strong as glass, but as tough as steel — the toughest of all metals.
“Typically with materials it’s very hard to get both toughness and strength; either you get one or the other,” said Marios Demetriou , a materials engineer at Caltech and the study’s lead author.
He and his colleagues report their findings in the journal Nature Materials.
There is, however, a catch to the seemingly transformational discovery.
“The cost of this material is very high, and it’s essentially high enough to be prohibitive for commodity-type products,” Dr. Demetriou said, though he did not have exact numbers.
But the researchers, who are patenting the new material, believe that in small amounts it could be usable.
“It could be useful, for instance, in orthodontic implants due to the very high resistance required,” Dr. Demetriou said.
Metallic glass was first discovered about 50 years ago at Caltech. Although it has the atomic structure of glass, it is opaque and has a shiny, metallic look. Currently, other compositions of metallic glass are used to make golf clubs, electronic casings and watch bezels.
