Scientists develop glass as tough as steel

Now, you can have sturdier windows and tableware. Japanese researchers have found a way to make a new kind of glass that is not only 'unbreakable' but also as hard as steel.

The mass-production of the new material will start in the next five years, said Atsunobu Masuno, an assistant professor at the University of Tokyo’s Institute of Industrial Science, in a report to The Asahi Shimbun.

According to the report: "Oxide glass mainly consists of silicon dioxide, with its strength boosted by mixing in alumina, an oxide of aluminum. But it had been difficult for scientists to form glass containing a large amount of alumina because the oxide causes crystallization when the glass comes into contact with its container."