Corning Gorilla Glass Car Windshields Coming Soon

Published: Thursday, June 13, 2013, 11:25 [IST]

The next advancement in automobiles could come in the form of better glass panels for windshields and windows. At present all automobiles make use of tempered glass panels. For added safety and durability a clear plastic layer is added between two panels of tempered glass. This prevents the glass from shattering into a million bits by holding them together.

But the panels used at present have a few drawbacks. Firstly, they are heavy and second, they are still susceptible to cracking and getting scratched easily. The good news is a suitable replacement already exists, a sort of glass that is probably lying on your desk at this very moment.

We are talking about Corning's Gorilla Glass of course. Gorilla Glass is an extremely durable, highly scratch resistant glass that is also extremely light. At present, an estimated 1.5 billion consumer electronic products, mostly smartphones have Gorilla Glass display panels, including iPhones and Samsung flagship smartphones.

During an interview at MIT Technology Review's recently held Mobile Summit 2013 in San Francisco Corning Senior Vice President Jeffrey Evenson spoke about the benefits of Gorilla Glass to the automobile sector. An improvement in fuel economy will be first and foremost benefit. The scratch resistant property also means they will last alot longer. Evenson also said it offers a better sound barrier, which would mean a peaceful cabin.

The only reason it has not already been adopted by automakers is due to the high cost of the material. Never-the-less, Evenson said, at least one high-end car maker is expected to make use of Corning's Gorilla Glass within the next year.

Article Published On: Thursday, June 13, 2013, 11:25 [IST]

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