A piece of glass sheet about 0.12 millimeter thick was produced by the Glass Research Institute. (Photo/Video screenshot from CCTV)
(ECNS) -- A Chinese research institute has created super-thin, ultra-strong sheet glass that can resist the impact force of a car running at 150 kilometers an hour, China Central Television reported.
Created by the Glass Research Institute in Bengbu City, a unit of the engineering technical platform of China National Building Material Co., Ltd, the glass is only 0.12 millimeter thick — roughly as thick as a standard A4-sized piece of paper.
In an experiment led by leading researcher Cao Xin, a 55-gram steel ball was dropped from one meter to hit the glass, equivalent to the impact force made by a car at 150kph, and the glass remained intact.
The sheet glass, which came off the product line in April, is the thinnest one mass-manufactured using the float process, according to Cao.
Cao said the ultra-thin glass can be used widely in the electronic information sector, such as for screens for cellphones, computers and TVs. He said his next goal is to mass produce sheet glass at 0.1 millimeter thick.
Led by chief scientist Peng Shou, the research institute has made a series of strides in recent years, making 0.33-millimeter sheet glass in June 2014, 0.15-millimeter in April 2016 and now 0.12-millimeter.
