**Full Disclosure: This is a sponsored post with Mums the Word Network and Corning Incorporated. All opinions are my own.
Are you hard on your devices? As much as I’d like to say I’m not hard on mine, I have been known to drop my phone at least once a month. That’s why I am so thankful for Corning® Gorilla® Glass 4!
Gorilla Glass 4 dramatically improves protection against drops. In laboratory tests, Gorilla Glass 4 survives up to 80% of the time when dropped from 3 feet high, and was up to 2x tougher than competitive glass designs.
With Gorilla Glass 4, the focus is on improving damage resistance against sharp contact, such as a drop on asphalt, concrete, and other rough surfaces.
How is Gorilla Glass Made?
Gorilla Glass is made in a 2-step process.
First the Fusion Process:
This extraordinarily precise, highly automated draw process produces a thin sheet cover glass with pristine surface quality, outstanding optical clarity and inherent dimensional stability – qualities essential for cover glass for consumer applications.
The process begins when raw materials are blended into a glass composition, which is melted and conditioned. The molten glass is fed into a trough called an “isopipe,” overfilling until the glass flows evenly over both sides. It then rejoins, or fuses, at the bottom, where it is drawn down to form a continuous sheet of flat glass that is so thin it is measured in microns. The glass is untouched by human hands or anything else that will introduce flaws into the surface.
This same fusion process is at the heart of Corning’s industry-leading LCD glass. The composition of Gorilla Glass enables a deep layer of chemical strengthening through an ion-exchange process where individual glass parts are cut from the “mother sheet” and undergo an ion-exchange process.
And then the Ion-Exchange Process:
Ion exchange is a chemical strengthening process where large ions are “stuffed” into the glass surface, creating a state of compression. Gorilla Glass is specially designed to maximize this behavior. The glass is placed in a hot bath of molten salt at a temperature of approximately 400 degrees C. Smaller sodium ions leave the glass, and larger potassium ions from the salt bath replace them. These large ions take up more room and are pressed together when the glass cools, producing a layer of compressive stress on the surface of the glass. Gorilla Glass’ composition enables the potassium ions to diffuse far into the surface, creating high compressive stress deep into the glass. This layer of compression creates the surface that is more resistant to damage.
So neat, right? I’d love to see the processes in person some day.
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