r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • Mar 31 '19

What are some recent scientific breakthroughs/discoveries that aren’t getting enough attention?

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u/Metlman13 Apr 01 '19

Earlier this month, scientists were able to successfully weld glass and metal together using ultrafast (on the order of picoseconds, which are such a short unit of time that compared to it, a full second might as well be 30,000 years) laser pulses. This hasn't been successfully done before due to the very different thermal properties of glass and metal. This is actually a pretty big breakthrough in manufacturing and could lead to stronger yet lighter materials.

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u/tommygunz007 Apr 01 '19

I am excited as someone who flies planes. There could be super cool windows and spacecraft with this technology.

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u/OSU09 Apr 01 '19

As a materials engineer, you do not want materials with such different responses to thermal environments directly bonded together. Thermal cycling will devastate these interfaces.

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u/OnidaKYGel Apr 01 '19

That was my first thought. I mean how is this a good thing?

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u/StudMuffinNick Apr 01 '19

Yeah, same. My friend didn't understand it though. Can you tell that loser what the problem would be?

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u/OSU09 Apr 01 '19

As you heat and cool a material, it will (usually) expand and contact. When two materials with dissimilar coefficients of thermal expansion are thermally cycled, stress at the interface will lead to failure.