Celebrating the International Year of Glass: the June 2022 issue of Physics World

01 Jun 2022

From ancient artefacts to modern materials, all you need to know about the science of glass

From ancient artefacts to modern materials: the June 2022 special issue of Physics World to mark the International Year of Glass is now out.

From windows to cookware, from biological implants to telescope optics and from telecoms to robots in space, we’re surrounded by glass. So could this transparent material best epitomize the world we live in today?

The United Nations certainly thinks so, having declared 2022 the International Year of Glass. And to celebrate the year, the June issue of Physics World magazine, which is now out in print and digital formats, is devoted to all things glass.

James Dacey kicks things off in “A transparent tool for a fairer planet”, going behind the scenes of the celebrations to contemplate the versatility of this wonder material and how it underpins many innovations – from smartphones to vials for vaccines.

In fact, you may be reading these words on a smartphone or tablet with a screen made from Gorilla Glass – a seemingly indestructible material manufactured by US company Corning. As James McKenzie discovers in “The unsung hero of the smartphone”, the glass hinged on an unanticipated but fortuitous invention many years before.

Don’t forget either that the Internet is brought to you via hair-thin strands of glass. We talk to Christine Tremblay – one of many physicists to have spent a lifetime optimizing these fibre-optic cables, paving the way to better communication across the globe.

But despite glass being first used by humans 4500 years ago, not everything is clear. As Jon Cartwright explores in “The many secrets of glass”, physicists are still trying to work out how, for example, a cooling liquid can form a hard glass without any distinct structural changes.

And as Rachel Brazil investigates in “A glassy solution to nuclear waste”, nuclear researchers are teaming up with historians and archaeologists to study ancient glasses and how they hold up over time, hoping to understand the stability of vitrified nuclear waste.

Finally, Robert Crease explores the arty side of glass by visiting the famous Corning Museum of Glass in upstate New York, where he is “Blown away by the wonders of glass”. And even in the darkest of times, glass art can shine a light on what it means to be human, as Ukrainian stained-glass artist Oksana Kondratyeva describes in “The glass that offers hope”.

Remember that if you’re a member of the Institute of Physics, you can read the whole of Physics World magazine every month via our digital apps for iOS, Android and Web browsers. Let us know what you think about the issue on Twitter, Facebook or by e-mailing us at pwld@ioppublishing.org.

For the record, here’s a full rundown of what is in the issue, which also has a set of full-page colour images presenting various eye-catching aspects of glass.

• Milky Way black hole revealed at last – The first picture of the glowing surroundings around Sagittarius A* – the black hole at the centre of the Milky Way – could offer clues to the inner workings of supermassive black holes. Will Gater explains

• US calls for ice-giants missions – The “decadal survey” of US planetary science prioritizes large-scale probes to Uranus and Saturn’s moon Enceladus. Peter Gwynne reportsREAD MORE

The Earth as an exoplanet, Liverpool’s lost accelerator and primordial black holes: the May 2022 issue of Physics World

• Lunar explorer – Thomas Smith from the Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, talks to Ling Xin about living in China and being the first foreign national to study Chang’e-5 Moon samples

• Physics is something that girls fancy – Jess Wade says that recent high-profile comments by Katharine Birbalsingh, chair of the UK government’s social mobility commission, that girls don’t like physics perpetuate false gender stereotypes and limit young people’s aspirations

• A transparent tool for a fairer planet – Glass-based technologies are shaping the modern world, from enabling green tech to delivering the Internet. James Dacey describes how the 2022 International Year of Glass will celebrate the universality of this see-through super material

• The many secrets of glass – Glasses are much more mysterious than their crystalline counterparts, yet have a wealth of practical uses, says Jon Cartwright

• Blown away by the wonders of glass – Robert P Crease visits the Corning Museum of Glass in upstate New York, which claims to house the largest collection of glass art and artefacts in the world

• A glassy solution to nuclear waste – Ancient glass is not just of interest to historians and archaeologists, it may also hold the key to understanding the durability of vitrified nuclear waste. Rachel Brazil investigates

• The unsung hero of the smartphone – James McKenzie reflects on the wonders of Gorilla Glass, an invention that protects billions of smartphones, tablets and laptops around the world from unwanted damage

• Commanding missions, making history – Andrew Glester reviews Through the Glass Ceiling to the Stars: the Story of the First American Woman to Command a Space Mission by Eileen M Collins with Jonathan H Ward

• We are living in a material world – Susanne Klein reviews Handmade: a Scientist’s Search for Meaning Through Making by Anna Ploszajski

• Using physics to fuel fibre-optic innovation: Engineering physicist Christine Tremblay talks to Joe McEntee about the joys of a career spent making fibre-optic networks cheaper, smarter and more resilient, opening the way for telecommunications firms to send voice, data and video streams down hair-thin strands of glass at ever-increasing bit rates

• The glass that offers hope – James Dacey talks to Ukrainian stained-glass artist and architect Oksana Kondratyeva

Sarah Tesh and Tushna Commissariat are features editors of Physics World.

from physicsworld.com   2/6/2022