Everything you need to know about the sapphire glass

At the Wall Street Journal reported last week that Apple is going to spend $ 700 million on new material for the iPhone screen. This material is called "sapphire", he is a super-tough material that can perfectly protect the touch-screen smartphone. We have prepared some interesting facts about the sapphire, which you definitely need to know.

What it is?

It is a crystalline solid having a number of properties similar to the glass Gorilla Glass, which is currently used for the iPhone screen. Sapphire is transparent, extremely flexible, and on it, as opposed to the glass, it is difficult to leave a scratch. And most importantly, the material is more resistant to cracking, particularly when the device is dropped.

Sapphire, we are talking about is different from the natural material, which can be found on Earth. This synthetic substance created in the laboratory and approximate to the natural structure of sapphire. And in fact, in your iPhone is already a tiny part of this durable material.

Wait, did Apple already uses it?

Of course! IPhone lens of your camera has long been protected by a layer of sapphire. The iPhone 5s it was also used to protect the fingerprint scanner Touch ID.

Where else would use sapphire?

The armored vehicles, the manufacture of the airplane, in the expensive watches and other spheres.

Is it solid?

Sapphire is one of the hardest minerals on Earth. He became harder, but more brittle, as compared to diamond. Chemically strengthened glass can be an excellent material, but sapphire better from the standpoint of hardness, strength and durability. Sapphire 4 times more resistant material than known for its excellent properties Gorilla Glass. By Mohs scale of hardnessUsed to measure the hardness of minerals, sapphire dials 9 of 10.

Why is it not used by other manufacturers of smartphones?

Sapphire has a number of drawbacks. In the first place, he glares stronger than glass, but it can become a big problem. Second, manufacturers Gorilla Glass is said that they were working with a sapphire, since the 1970s, and that the material is not as strong as this claim is confirmed by their internal tests. And last but not least, the sapphire - very expensive in the production of the material. Each sapphire screen will cost Apple at $ 16, while the display of Gorilla Glass costs only $ 3.

Where is the will to make hundreds of millions of these screens?

Last year, Apple bought a huge plant in Arizona. Just imagine, in their area, it takes 20 football fields! Besides kupertinovtsy rented equipment company GT Advanced Technologies, specializing in the development of crystalline materials. According to analysts, the factory can produce twice as much sapphire than the rest of the world.

And the last question: sapphire whether used for iPhone 6 Screen?

Maybe. The analyst has no optimistic forecasts in this regard, since the production of this material - a very problematic process. In general, this question will answer itself is Apple's, and very soon.