Researchers from Cornell University and the University of Ulm have developed the world's thinnest glass - only two atoms thick. This was an accidental discovery by the researchers who were trying to produce pure graphene. They thought they noticed much forming on the graphene, but a closer look revealed it is a glass layer (made from Silicon and Oxygen). They think that an air leak caused a reaction between the copper foil they used and a quartz furnace.
After discovering the glass, the researchers used electron microscopy and produced a picture that revealed the precise arrangement of atoms in glass - for the first time ever. It turns out that William Houlder Zachariasen was quite precise when he suggested glass arrangement in 1932.
Posted: Sep 15,2013 by Ron Mertens