Shatterproof screens for smartphones will soon be a reality

New Delhi : Shatterproof screens for the smartphones may soon become a reality, said a study. Lead researcher Dr Charles Le Losq from ANU said that with the help of experiments and computer modelling he has been able to create a structure of glass that is super resistant to fractures.

"Everyone knows how frustrating it is when you drop your mobile device and get a large crack in the screen," said Dr Le Losq from the ANU Research School of Earth Sciences.

He focused his research on a type of glass called alumino-silicate, which is used in the screens of mobile devices.

"The glasses we analysed are mostly composed of aluminium and silicon oxides, and can also contain various elements such as sodium, potassium, calcium or magnesium—each element influences the flexibility and resistance of the glass," Dr Le Losq said.

For research he collaborated with various laboratories across the world and scientists in the fields of chemistry, material science, physics and geochemistry.

The researchers measured the viscosity of molten glass at more than 1,000 degrees Celsius and the density of the glass when cooled and formed.

"Our research findings allow better modelling of present volcanic activity, as well as of the lavas involved in the original formation of Earth and its surface," Dr Le Losq said.

A joint research by the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris and ANU has been published in Scientific Reports, in collaboration with researchers from France, the United Kingdom and China.