• Bridger
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        1 year ago

        Glass can be toughened up a bit by tempering, at a cost. It can be toughened up a lot by other methods up to being made bulletproof at costs both financial and in terms of compromises to clarity and adding a lot of thickness.

        The question is whether ‘transparent wood’ can compete with glass in performance and cost.

        • MotoAsh@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          “Glass” is not all the same. Gorilla glass is many times stronger than a window pane. Aluminum oxide crystals are called “glass” when they’re made to shape. Soda-lime glass is still called “glass”. “Glass” is an exceedingly poor metric to compare anything to, even other glass.

          • Bridger
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            1 year ago

            Given that industry likes deceptive trade names- ‘plexiglas’ for instance- transparent wood will probably be known as ‘lignoglass’ or some such nonsense.

      • MotoAsh@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        and what about vs gorilla glass or sapphire? Y’know, like the kinds of glass already used on smart phones?

        Soda glass, you could just about step on, on a flat surface with no defects, and break it if there’s even mild deviation. Being stronger than glass is a VERY low or high bar depending on the glass.