Corning® Gorilla® Glass 4 – Tougher Glass for Rougher Falls

This is a sponsored post with Mums the Word Network and Corning Incorporated. All opinions are my own.

If I’m only grabbing a few things when I go out, you better believe my cell phone is one of them ☺  I’ve been pretty fortunate that I’ve only dropped my phone once, and thankfully it came away from the fall unscathed.

After that terrifying incident I realized that when it’s time to upgrade my phone it would behoove me to look for a device that is made with Corning® Gorilla® Glass 4, because Gorilla Glass 4 dramatically improves protection against drops.Gorilla Glass enables today’s sleekest smartphone designs, while providing exceptional damage resistance to the scratches and bumps of everyday use, and that’s because of the way it’s made.

Fusion Process

Corning Incorporated’s proprietary fusion manufacturing process blends raw materials into a glass composition, which is melted and conditioned.  The molten glass is fed into a trough called an “isopipe,” overfilling until the glass flows evenly over both sides. It then rejoins, or fuses, at the bottom, where it is drawn down to form a continuous sheet of flat glass that is thin. The glass is untouched by human hands or anything else that will introduce flaws into the surface.

That same fusion process is at the heart of Corning Incorporated’s industry-leading LCD glass.  The composition of Corning Gorilla Glass enables a deep layer of chemical strengthening through an ion-exchange process where individual glass parts are cut from the “mother sheet” and undergo an ion-exchange process.

Ion-Exchange Process

Ion exchange is a chemical strengthening process where large ions are “stuffed” into the glass surface, creating a state of compression. Gorilla Glass is specially designed to maximize this behavior.  The glass is placed in a hot bath of molten salt at a temperature of approximately 400 degrees C. Smaller sodium ions leave the glass, and larger potassium ions from the salt bath replace them. These large ions take up more room and are pressed together when the glass cools, producing a layer of compressive stress on the surface of the glass. Gorilla Glass’ composition enables the potassium ions to diffuse far into the surface, creating high compressive stress deep into the glass. This layer of compression creates the surface that is more resistant to damage.Want to see how Corning Incorporated tests their Gorilla Glass?  Watch the video below.

After watching that it sure does explain why Gorilla Glass 4 is better able to withstand damage from drops!I know my husband is glad that there is Gorilla Glass on his smartphone.  He tosses that thing in his pocket with his keys and the screen looks as sharp as the day he got it.  I’m crossing my fingers that he’ll want to upgrade before he NEEDS to upgrade.  That guy has butter fingers and it’s only a matter of time before he drops his phone 😉 But I’m confident that since in laboratory tests, Gorilla Glass 4 survives up to 80% of the time when dropped from 3 feet high, and was up to 2x tougher than competitive glass designs, that if he does drop his phone, the Gorilla Glass will help to protect it.

Have you used a device with Gorilla Glass? Which one and what were your thoughts about it?

Click here for a chance to win an Acer Iconia Tab 10 featuring Gorilla Glass 4!