Glass that's Stronger than Steel

In the world of materials, strength (the amount of force a substance can withstand) and toughness (its capacity to resist fracturing) are not merely different attributes; they're very difficult to achieve together. Now a collaboration of researchers from Caltech and the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has created a form of glass that has both qualities. It's stronger and tougher than steel or, indeed, any other known material. The material features palladium, a metal whose possible use in glasses was recognized 45 years ago.
"It's probably the best damage-tolerant material we've seen," says Robert Ritchie, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, who tested the new material. He says no one has ever achieved such toughness from 100 percent glass and that the potential exists to mass-produce the glass.