The 10 most expensive homes in the world: After Mikhail Prokhorov, the Russian billionaire, lost £36million deposit on the most expensive villa in the world, we decided we would look into the extravagance of the world’s most expensive homes. From ballrooms to bowling alleys, orchards to iris scanners, entourage rooms to panic rooms, acres of gardens to gold-leaf bathrooms, this list has it all. This is how the other half live - “Antilla”, Mumbai - $1billion. This 27-story, 40,000 sq/ft tower, pictured left (click to enlarge), where no two floors are the same, is the unique and extravagant creation of owners Mukesh and Nita Ambani. Costing more than a hotel or high-rise, due to its custom measurements and fittings, it comes complete with a six-story car park and actually begins on the ninth floor. 570 feet tall and mostly glass, it has a staff of 600 servants. The ballroom boasts a crystal chandelier ceiling and features retractable showcases for artwork and entertainment stages. It has an indoor/outdoor bar, green rooms and a nearby "entourage room" for security guards and assistants to relax. Each floor is double the average height, technically making it 60 stories tall, perfect for its own helipad. This home dwarfs any other, financially and in stature, and will probably be number one for a while.
Scientists have revealed the smallest man-made pump ever built - the size of a human red blood cell. The team of US and Korean researchers used ultra-fast laser pulses to create tunnels in glass rods thinner than a human hair. The glass walls of these tunnels can conduct electricity. The scientists powered their minuscule fluid pump by "switching" this conduction on and off. They describe the advance in the journal Nature Nanotechnology. The developers say the pump could be used to inject tiny amounts of a drug into single cells or to take samples from cells that may be diseased or infected. The technique relies on the ability of glass, which is a well-known insulator, to become a "temporary conductor" of electricity. "When you go down to the nanoscale, the world doesn't behave as we're used to," explained Alan Hunt from the University of Michigan, who led the research team.He and his
colleagues used the laser technique to etch out a narrow tunnel, 500-600 billionths of a metre (500-600 nm) in diameter, in the glass tube, one end of which was blocked to form a tip. The team then filled the channel with an electrically conducting fluid, creating a "liquid wire". At these very small scales, and in the presence of a strong electric field, the glass tip temporarily acted as a conductor, carrying current from the liquid to the pump. When the current was reversed, the glass tip returned to being an insulator. The continuous application and reversal of this process powered the pump mechanism, which was capable of controlling the flow of liquid at rates as low as a thousandth of a trillionth of a litre per second.The process by which a current can be induced at nanoscales in a material which doesn't normally conduct electricity is known as "dielectric breakdown". It causes a change in the material which allows a spark to pass through it. Many "nanodevices" are made from glass and this novel technique eliminates the need to incorporate conductive metal materials, which is very difficult to do with precision at such tiny scales. These new glass electrodes are thought to have great potential in the manufacture of microscopic machinery for use in future medical treatments.
Modernfold, a manufacturer of operable partitions, is collaborating with Joel Berman Glass Studios to bring designer glass options to its space division products. According to the announcement, the use of glass in operable partitions is an accelerating trend that will likely continue given modern demands for daylighting and increased interior openness. The new collaboration will enable architects and designers to integrate a wide array of custom textures, colors and resins into Modernfold partitions for a customized, contemporary finish. “Modernfold has always been in the forefront of offering the latest aesthetic options to the architectural community,” says Dan Popplewell, director of sales at Modernfold. “With the availability of remarkable products from Joel Berman Glass Studios, we again demonstrate that space division can be beautiful and functional at the same time.”
Argotec Introduces EdgeSealPLUS for Protecting Laminated Glass Composites: Argotec, Inc., one of the world’s largest producers of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) film and sheet, today announced the introduction of EdgeSealPLUS, a new and improved version of its original product used to seal the edges of multilayered laminated glass composites. The addition of a patent-pending foil layer between two sheets of TPU gives EdgeSealPLUS dramatically enhanced resistance to moisture, window cleaning solutions and the solvents contained in caulks and sealants. These chemicals can penetrate into and degrade the layers within the composite. The product also helps protect the edge of glass laminates from chipping and other minor damage, as well as creating an aesthetically pleasing appearance on the composite edge. Argotec is a privately held, global supplier of custom-engineered, high-performance, polyurethane film and sheet for a wide variety of critical applications.
Metallic glass yields secrets under pressure: Metallic glasses are emerging as potentially useful materials at the frontier of materials science research. They combine the advantages and avoid many of the problems of normal metals and glasses, two classes of materials with a very wide range of applications. For example, metallic glasses are less brittle than ordinary glasses and more resilient than conventional metals. Metallic glasses also have unique electronic behaviour that scientists are just beginning to understand. In a new study, scientists at the Carnegie Institution used high pressure techniques to probe the connection between the density and electronic structure of a cerium-aluminium metallic glass, opening up new possibilities for developing metallic glasses for specific purposes.Unlike ordinary metallic materials, which have an ordered, crystalline structure, metallic glasses are disordered at the atomic scale. This disorder can actually improve some properties of the material, because boundaries between crystal grains are often sites of weakness, leading to breakage or corrosion. Metallic glasses can therefore have superior strength and durability as compared to other metals. The disordered structure also makes metallic glasses highly efficient magnets because it lacks the kinds of defects found in crystalline metals.
Density is a property that can be altered by subjecting a material such as glass to high pressure. But unlike other glasses, which reduce their volume under pressure by rearranging their atoms to take up less space, metallic glasses have a structure in which the atoms are already closely packed. For this reason, researchers previously thought that metallic glasses could not be converted into denser phases. But in 2007 two teams made the surprising discovery that cerium-rich metallic glasses did in fact become denser at high pressure. Theorists suggested that the volume collapse happens through changes in the electronic structure of the cerium atoms in which electrons bound to specific atoms under low pressure become 'delocalised' (that is, free to move among the atoms) under high pressure. This causes the bond between atoms to shrink, allowing them to pack even more closely. Until now, however, there has been no direct experimental evidence for this transformation.
Sensor predicts glass breakage: Modern glass façades inform the architecture of major cities throughout the world. In recent years, however, there have been cases of broken glass, with collapsing facades endangering passers-by. Now, a special sensor can detect micro-fissures and warn of impending breakage beforehand. The sensor is located on the rim of the sheet of glass. It is linked to the building control systems by cable (pictured/click to enlarge).The Pompidou Center, the pyramid entrance to the Louvre, the Munich Uptown tower and Berlin's Spreedreieck office triangle: When constructing modern buildings, architects readily choose constructions designed of glass and steel. Nowadays, entire glass façades are no longer a rarity. Meanwhile the constantly recurring reports of collapsing façade elements have prompted the federal ministry for transportation, construction and urban development to mandate regular inspections of potential risk. The problem: The monitoring instruments in use until now merely register the sound of breaking glass. Thus, they can only ascertain breakage once it has occurred, and are unable to warn of looming peril in a timely manner.
German researchers
at the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research ISC in Wurzburg in collaboration with industry partners have developed a sensor that even detects micro-fissures of five millimeters in length, and thus point out the need for repairs early on - long before the glass actually breaks. "We attached several piezoelectric sensor actuator modules in a window pane. Four sensors are situated on a one square meter surface, on the edge of the pane at a distance of one meter from each other. One sensor actuator module produces an ultrasound wave that is registered by the others. If the acoustic signal remains constant, then the pane is not defective. If it changes, then this indicates a fissure caused during transport or due to an installation error. This fissure most often emanates from the edge of the pane and is initially invisible. It is only as time goes by that it gets larger due to various factors, like fluctuations in temperature," explains Dr. Bernhard Brunner, working group manager at ISC.The sensors are linked to the building control systems by cable. The data received there is analyzed automatically. If a fissure occurs, an alarm goes off. "We have succeeded in integrating our sensors, which measure 15 by 15 by 0.5 millimeters, into laminated glass. They can be integrated between both glass sheets as early as the manufacturing process. Therefore, the sensors can test the glass for transport defects even before installation," adds Brunner. Glass manufacturers and glass refiners also have the opportunity to conduct tests when goods are received or shipped. Yet the new safety system not only warns of glass breakage; it also offers comfort functions: The sensor-actuator modules are coupled with temperature and light sensors that - depending on incident light - target individual louvers for opening or closing, and thereby control room temperature.
Shopping malls plead for terror tax relief: Shopping centre bosses think the public should foot the bill for protection against terrorists. Some of Britain's biggest malls say they deserve tax breaks to install security measures recommended by the police and MI5. They say the changes, which include carpark alterations, crash barriers which can stop a lorry at 70mph and better CCTV systems, are too expensive. Martin Taylor of the British Council of Shopping Centres' safety committee said: "If you are an individual you get tax relief for expenditure on protecting yourself. I think shopping centres could benefit from some sort of tax assistance." Four plots against shopping centres in Britain have been foiled since 2004, claims MI5. Mr Martin questioned the use of technology in preventing terrorism, arguing for the "human factor" of well-trained staff. One senior police officer said of malls: "These are basically glass shells with large windows to show off goods and a glass roof to let in the light - and it's flying glass that kills when a bomb goes off. "If malls are going to make a lot of money out of that situation they should shoulder the cost of minimising risk."
The new Segerstrom Science Center at Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, Calif., features Lamberts channel glass provided by Bendheim Wall Systems, the exclusive North American importer of the channel glass. For the $42 million building at California’s first Bible college, A.C. Martin Partners Inc. took advantage of the unique structural properties of Lamberts channel glass. The single- and double-glazed walls of obscuring channel glass combine privacy with excellent 
light-scattering properties and fill the Science Center’s new laboratories and study areas with gentle daylight. According to the company, Lamberts channel glass features up to 40 percent post-consumer material contributing to the overall sustainability of the project and its target of LEED Gold certification. From the safety standpoint, Lamberts channel glass is tempered, heat soak tested and certified by the Safety Glazing Certification Council. Installation of the channel glass was handled by Corona Aluminum.
Volcanic ash and cotton candy share molecular characteristics with glass: Even when the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull was shooting more than 500 tons of ash per second into the air last month, children somewhere surely were parading around with festive funnels of cotton candy. The connection between the ash and the candy? More than you might think (unless you are a chemist): Both are forms of glass. The word "glass" most readily conjures windows and juice glasses. But limiting your notion of glass to those old standards would do a great disservice to a material that has had an enormous role in the history of art, science, technology and, as it turns out, food.What makes a solid material a
glass is the imperfect ways its atoms are arranged. Crystalline materials such as table sugar and quartz gems have essentially perfect geometric lineups of their atomic or molecular parts. Imagine a beautiful stack of oranges (a stack that goes on forever and whose units are a couple hundred-millionths the size of a piece of fruit) and you'll get a feel for a crystal's internal structure. Now imagine messing up that perfect orange stack into a more random pile, with gaps here and there, and grapes and watermelons abetting the disorder. That's what glass looks like on a molecular level. "Glass does not have this long-range order," says geochemist Bjorn O. Mysen of the Carnegie Institute of Washington's Geophysical Laboratory. Window glass has the same basic composition as quartz crystal (the major ingredient in both is silica sand), but it also has some organizational spoilers, such as calcium and sodium ions, that keep it from forming into a crystal.But what really makes silica form into a glass instead of a crystal is the speed with which it solidifies from the molten state. Slow cooling gives the searing liquid enough time for its silica and a few other ingredients to settle into that regimented crystalline pattern. But if you speed up that cooling enough, the bonding behavior becomes more random and you get glass. This chaotic structure is why glass can take on just about any shape and why it breaks by shattering, rather than by cleaving along straight geometric planes the way crystals do when they break. Silica happens to not absorb light of visible wavelengths, which is largely why it is transparent. But add enough other absorptive elements, such as iron or cobalt (which are what gives color to glass), or if the glass solidifies with too many tiny bubbles and other imperfections that scatter light, and you will end up with glass you can't see through.
Eyjafjallajokull's specific recipe for glass grains that float in the air includes silica, alumina, iron oxide, calcium oxide, and a half-dozen other oxides, according to a chemical analysis by researchers at the University of Iceland's Nordic Volcanological Center. During the eruption, a molten mixture of these was shot through an ice-filled crater at the summit. That provided the rapid cooling needed to make glass. Then, this nascent glass was pulverized into microscopic flecks by great blasts of steam and gas from the volcano. In just three days of eruptions in April, 100 million metric tons of this glassy ash would bring air traffic over Europe to a halt. It would take the world's entire glass industry years to produce that much glass.
Glass Ceiling: Solar Startup Wants to Electrify Your Skylights and Windows - While most solar panels on buildings today perch atop the roofs of homes and businesses, these developers of so-called "building integrated" solar products see dollar signs in the millions of square feet of vertical real estate on high rises and other commercial buildings. One such company is San Mateo, Calif.-based Pythagoras Solar, which this week announced plans to launch a solar window -- or, more properly, a "photovoltaic glass unit" -- to produce electricity while helping keep buildings cool in hot weather and still allowing plenty of daylight in. The unit includes a solar cell and a prism, which reflects light onto the cell to boost its electricity production, sandwiched between two panes of glass.
Pythagoras Solar Announces Photovoltaic Glass Unit (PVGU), First Green Building Material to Combine Energy Efficiency, High Density Solar Power Generation and Transparency: Pythagoras Solar, a provider of advanced building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) products, today announced plans to commercialize the industry's first energy efficient, transparent and high power density photovoltaic glass unit (PVGU). The company's groundbreaking new technology is the first to combine energy efficiency, solar power generation and appealing aesthetics in a single green building material -- a solar window. PVGU products will be available for curtain walls, skylights and windows in the second half of 2010. Designed to be an easily integrated component of conventional building construction, Pythagoras Solar products offer triple-value benefits by combining the energy efficiency benefits of an insulating glass unit (IGU), the shading and lighting benefits of patent-pending optics, and high-efficiency solar power generation, which combined offer architectural adaptability and increased real estate value.
DuPont offers a clearer view of medieval art: A new staircase with glass balustrades made of toughened glass laminated with DuPont’s SentryGlas is one of the architectural highlights of the new Daylit Gallery at the Victoria & Albert (V&A) museum in central London. The use of the SentryGlas interlayer has enabled the production of safe and structurally secure glass panels that also enhance the staircase’s overall transparency. Each panel consisting of two 10mm tempered glass sheets with a 1.52mm layer of the DuPont material. “SentryGlas’s big advantage is that, unlike other interlayers, it performs as a tensile membrane, meaning that it is able to retain a load bearing capacity even if one or both of the panels should break,” Scott Nelson of Dewhurst MacFarlane, the structural engineering company responsible for the staircase.
Flexible Glass Technology Means Lighter, Brighter Displays: The news has been buzzing with Sony's latest rollable OLED screen (note: Sony does not specify that it uses this particular technology in its organic thin-film transisters product). It's an impressive sight, but how does it work? Corning has been developing flexible substrates on which electronics can be printed. Amazingly, Corning's latest substrate is made from very pure glass (and it doesn't shatter!). According to Carl Taussig, director of the Information Surfaces Lab at Hewlett-Packard Labs in Palo Alto, California, "Glass is a great surface for building thin-film devices on." Water can't seep into glass unlike its plastic counterparts due to glass's impermeability -- meaning that the electronics can last longer. Glass is also smoother and can therefore accommodate the building of perfectly structured electronics. Finally, glass can survive higher temperatures than plastics, meaning the electronics can be made at higher temperatures which results in faster switching electronics, producing a crisper display. One added benefit is their low weight. The glass can be coated or treated for specific traits, meaning a more resistant surface and just as strong as current thicker displays. The impressive glass is only 75 micrometers thick. The glass also means less material waste on thicker screens, and more energy efficient than Liquid Crystal Displays (LCDs).
First glass temple enters the Malaysia Books of Records: As it is the country's first glass temple constructed with 300,000 pieces of coloured glass, including blue, red, yellow, green, purple and white, the Arulmigu Sri Raja Kaliamman Glass Temple has been recorded in the Malaysia Books of Records. A representative of the Malaysia Books of Records said that 90% of the glass temple was embellished with glass and it was a pride for the country. "The glass temple has been attracting about 30,000 visitors monthly since its completion, allowing the temple to carry out charity work," said Sinathambhy. He said that he would apply the concept to the surrounding buildings to create a "glass city", including building a double-storey multi-purpose hall, which will be 100% constructed with glass.
Dell Streak tablet’s Gorilla Glass: Corning’s Gorilla Glass technology is supposed to make screens that are resistant to scratches and other everyday damage. The upcoming LG X300 mini-laptop uses Gorilla Glass, and so does the Dell Streak 5 inch Android tablet. And the folks at Engadget just happened to have a Streak prototype, so they did the only responsible thing and tried abusing the display to see what would happen. First thing they did was attempt to stab the screen with a normal pen. And I don’t just mean tapping. I mean stabbing with some force… repeatedly. The pen didn’t leave any scratches or cracks. Does this mean it’s safe to run a Dell Streak over with a car? No. But it does mean that it might be safe to throw the Streak in your bag without a protective cover on occasion. Check out the video.
AGC Glass Europe and Traxon Technologies sign agreement: AGC Glass Europe, Brussels, and Traxon Technologies, Hong Kong, global leader in LED lighting systems and solutions, have signed an agreement to develop their worldwide business of innovative LED-glass solutions, according to a June 2 release. They will combine their knowledge and experience in glass and LED design to market unique solutions for lighting up buildings and interiors. Glassiled, the AGC patented safety glass with embedded LEDs, together with Traxon’s technology for sustainable LED lighting systems, will illuminate and animate facades, atriums and conservatories as well as interiors. The solutions can be used for impressive buildings, shopping malls, hotels and other large buildings in any environment, as well as wall cladding, partitions or showcases in shops, restaurants, bathrooms, boats and trains.
Glass maker Pilkington keeps eye on new solar technologies: International glass producer Pilkington is partnering with UK R&D on two separate projects to follow the progress of new solar materials that can be coated onto glass. In one project, which has received funding from the UK government, Cambridge-based Polysolar is working with Pilkington to develop a demonstrator made of a large pane of glass with spray-coated organic photovoltaics (OPVs), achieving good levels of transparency. The two-year project continues PolySolar's original investment in technology that originated from Cambridge University's Cavendish Laboratory and technology from Plextronics in the US.According to Hamish Watson, who founded Polysolar, the company aims to produce glass with an efficiency of 4%. A building envelope comprising of the glass could then generate between 20-30% of its energy needs, while the additional cost of the PV functionality would not add too much to the cost of the construction glass, which can cost up to €1,200 per m². It may be three years before the OPV glass is commercialised. In the meantime, Polysolar provides a solar glass based on amorphous silicon with a good degree of transparency, which is already being used in bus shelters and some prestigious new building projects.
Pilkington is also the industrial partner on a project bid that spans several UK academic institutes, including Swansea University and The University of Manchester, all looking to pool their IP and knowledge in dye-sensitised and other emerging solar cell technology for the building-integrated PV market. Pilkington's interest is in new opportunities for construction glass, where it can be treated with the capacity to harvest energy from light and solar. Dye-sensitised solar cells and other emerging printable PVs are more effective at turning more light on the spectrum to energy, whereas silicon is most effective in bright sun, making these technologies suitable for deployment in cloudy climates, like much of northern Europe.
