Glass - imagine if this wonder material could be made 50 times stronger, which would surpass the common structural metals for strength & durability & yet would be completely corrosion proof & relatively maintenance free. Instead of just a decorative & visual material, glass could be used as a structural, load-beaing material enabling more imaginative design possibilities. Whole new, as yet unknown applications could be developed for glass. How would such glass affect society as a whole? Industry leaders in the US have developed an innovative project to find ways to overcome the material's inherent fragility & to suggest how this stronger material might be applied. This article explains how the US-based GMIC & the NSF (International Materials Institute) have come up with a three phase programme to research these new capabilities.
