DOE funds development of flexible glass, stronger than steel

The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the California Institute of Technology collaborated to develop a glass that is stronger and tougher than steel, according to a Jan. 12 Clean Technica report. The Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation funded the project. The glass, made of a microalloy with palladium -- a metal with a high “bulk-to-shear” stiffness ratio that counteracts the intrinsic brittleness of glassy materials -- will bend when stressed, instead of shattering.

A solar roof made out of such glass would need less roofing infrastructure to hold it up, reducing both solar and roofing prices, according to the report.

Read full article