Glass Teeth

A glass that has the strength and toughness of steel has been developed by Caltech and Lawrence Berkeley National Labs.

The new glass is made up of palladium and silver with small fractions of metalloids. Marios Demetriou, a senior research fellow at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) lead a team of researchers that included William Johnson, Caltech's Ruben F. and Donna Mettler Professor of Engineering and Applied Science and colleagues in developing this material.

"Our study demonstrates for the first time that this class of materials, the metallic glasses, has the capacity to become the toughest and strongest ever known," Demetriou said in a statement released by Caltech.

The release also said that owing to its superior damage tolerance, the present palladium glass can be thought of as a superior alternative to conventional palladium dental alloys. However palladium is a costly material and their implants could prove durable, but would also be expensive.

The study is reported in the recent issue of the journal Nature Materials.

Article Source MedIndia