When it comes to glass, we aren’t done making discoveries! Here are some glass types from the cutting edge of science:

Metallic Glass. Glass doesn’t have to come from liquid sand. It can come from any liquid—as long as the liquid is cooled fast enough. Scientists are learning to make glass from molten metal. Metallic glass is very strong. It could be used for golf clubs, medical equipment, or even airplanes. But scientists don’t understand metallic glass as well as regular glass. They still have lots of learning to do before we start flying around in glass planes!

Double-Strong Glass. Scientists have already learned ways to make car window and windshield glass very strong. But what if they could make it even stronger? Scientists at Rice University have a new idea. Usually when glass is made, extra energy gets trapped inside it. The energy comes from the temperature changes glass goes through while it is being made. Extra energy makes glass weaker. The scientists thought of a way to make glass without adding the extra energy. They think it will make glass twice as strong. Will their idea work?

Gorilla and Sapphire Glass. These two kinds of glass are perfect for cellphone screens. Gorilla Glass is hard, thin, light, and difficult to scratch. Glassmakers create it by giving glass a very hot bath in melted potassium. Sapphire glass, on the other hand, comes from a manmade version of the gemstone sapphire. Gorilla Glass is hard. But sapphire glass is as hard as diamonds. That means nothing can scratch it—except, of course, diamonds. But both sapphire glass and Gorilla Glass can still do exactly what you don’t want them to do: shatter. Cellphone makers might be chewing on that problem for years to come.