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Nature 430, 738 (12 August 2004) | doi:10.1038/430738a; Published online 11 August 2004

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Materials science:  Flame-broiled alumina

Paul F. McMillan1

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A method for preparing aluminate glasses and glass–ceramic composites opens up new possibilities for generating mechanically strong structural components and high-hardness coatings.

Shattered glass and cracked dinnerware: ceramics are brittle materials that fail catastrophically when they are stressed. However, strategies are being developed for creating ceramics, including glasses, that are toughened against fracture1.

  1. Paul F. McMillan is at the Davy–Faraday Laboratory, Royal Institution of Great Britain, and in the Department of Chemistry, Christopher Ingold Laboratory and Materials Chemistry Centre, University College London, London WC1H 0AJ, UK.
    Email: p.f.mcmillan@ucl.ac.uk

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