Tony “Abolish ICE” Arcieri🌹🦀2d ago

If the main step of "Gorilla Glass" a.k.a. aluminosilicate glass is simply dipping fully formed glass (with some special ingredients) in a molten salt bath, why isn't everything made of it and why are so few companies making "unbreakable" glass with it?

It seems like Pyrex / borosilicate is comparatively ubiquitous, but not as durable.

Show threadTony “Abolish ICE” Arcieri🌹🦀

The East German company Superfest was apparently working with aluminosilicate glass in the '80s, creating "unbreakable" glasses, but went out of business.

I guess it's hard to displace a cheap breakable product with an expensive unbreakable product, especially since it takes away a repeat customer multiplier for the breakages.

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/article/2024/aug/06/superfest-unbreakable-drinking-glasses-east-germany

Smashing idea: how East Germany invented ‘unbreakable’ drinking glasses

In the 1980s, a company called Superfest pioneered extra strong glass – but it disappeared with the fall of the Berlin Wall. Now it’s making a comeback

The Guardian
Mar 26 at 1:33pmWeb
Show threadJean-Baptiste "JBQ" Quéru2d ago
@bascule The French company Duralex makes very durable glasses, ideal for restaurants, schools, etc... They had been struggling but, after getting bought by their employees, are now doing well.
Show threadTony “Abolish ICE” Arcieri🌹🦀2d ago
@jbqueru I have some Duralex glasses but they're just tempered glass. I've also broken some of them, heh. Pretty nice glasses in general, though
Show threadMikalai2d ago
@bascule
Does it imply GenAI will stay?
Code more breakable -> repeat demand