We’ve all experienced that moment when a glass slips from your hand, falls to the ground and breaks into pieces. In a new discovery, researchers at Tohoku University in Japan have provided new insights into how glass resists breaking, according to foreign media reports. The breakthrough could help develop highly durable, shatter-resistant materials with broad implications for glass-related industries.
“Glass is strong, but it breaks easily when stress exceeds its tolerance,” said Makina Saito, associate professor at the Graduate School of Science at Tohoku University. “Interestingly, the movement of atoms and molecules inside glass can relieve internal stress, making the material more resistant to fracture. We knew that some atoms ‘jump’ into nearby voids, but how this process relieves stress has been a mystery.”
Saito et al. discovered a previously unknown stress relaxation mechanism in ion glass, a glass model system. Other researchers are from Kyoto University, Shimane University, the National Institute for Materials Science, and the Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute.
The study used advanced synchrotron radiation experiments and computer simulations to observe atomic motion in glass on nanosecond-to-microsecond timescales.
The team found that when some atoms in the glass “jump” into nearby gaps, groups of surrounding atoms slowly move together to fill the gaps. This interplay of atomic hopping and collective motion can reduce internal stress, protecting the glass from breaking under external forces.
“The results of this study have far-reaching implications for industries such as consumer electronics, construction, and automotive manufacturing, where shatterproof glass is in great demand,” Saito said.
The team plans to explore whether similar atomic mechanisms work in other types of glass. The ultimate goal is to develop universal guidelines for designing glass with superior impact resistance, which could revolutionize applications that require durable materials.