How can today’s high-tech glass – found on smartphones, elevator walls, public kiosks, and more — be so tough that it withstands all the dropping, scratching, and splattering of everyday life? Part of the answer lies in the ion-exchange process.

For centuries, glass has been an indispensable laboratory partner for chemists and research scientists. So important were glass vessels in lab experiments that in the years before mass production, chemists frequently did double-duty as glassblowers, creating their own labware for measuring, mixing, and storing chemicals.

No material inspires more creativity. Scientists and artists alike have revered glass for the way it handles light and color, changes shape and take on new forms, while maintaining stability and strength. Artists, architects, engineers, and designers are turning to glass for its stunning characteristics.

Did flexible glass, so strong that a dent could be knocked out with a hammer, exist in first-century Rome? Probably not  —  but its stories do hold a small, intriguing place in ancient folklore.

As modern times unfolded, glass took its place in almost every aspect of our lives. Glass lanterns helped guide railroad cars through safe crossings. Teardrop-shaped bulbs lit up our world. Glass tubes brought radio, then television, to the masses.

Glass has played a central role in space exploration since Galileo fashioned his first telescope in the early 1600s – and in so doing, opened up a world of limitless discovery.

Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage — known for taking complex scientific concepts and explaining them in lively, understandable ways – introduce viewers to The Glass Age with a brief look at the complex history of glass. And, Savage notes, "as a material, it has properties and characteristics we are only just beginning to understand."

For thousands of years, artists have worked with glass because of how it forms, feels, and handles light, while craftsmen have used glass for practical applications because of its stability, impermeability, and transparency.  In the last century, scientists have made extraordinary advances in the characterization and fabrication of glass, leading to innovative applications in diverse fields such as architecture, transportation, electronics, communications, and medicine.

The durability of your touch screen. The brilliant, high definition images on your television. The lightweight, thin form factor of your smartphone. The qualities of glass make these advantages possible. But not just any glass will do.

Nearly 2 billion people are instantaneously and simultaneously accessing the Internet because of strands of glass thinner than a human hair. This glass, referred to as optical fiber, is not only ultra-thin, but extremely flexible, pure, and rugged.

Optical fiber is an ultra-thin, extremely flexible thread of glass that enables us to transmit information at high speeds across the room or across the world. Corning invented the first commercially viable low-loss optical fiber in 1970, and this glass technology has continued to improve in order to meet the growing bandwidth demands of today’s always-on world.

Did you know that today’s devices have different layers of glass?

It’s true. In fact, each layer has a distinct glass composition that enables it to perform a specific role within smartphones, tablets, televisions, or other devices. Check out why each layer of glass matters for the overall functionality of your device.

From its chemical compounds to its superior strength, longevity, and transparency, discover how glass continues to reinvent itself and solve new problems.

Since the beginning of time, fascination with the unknown has launched sailing ships, ignited experiments, and propelled rockets into space. Explorers, whether they gaze out at the horizon or peer into a microscope, have always been relentless about unlocking secrets and opening the world.

Oxides – the chemical compounds that make up glass – represent most fundamental of chemical pairings:  at least one oxygen atom with one other element.

Is there any limit to what glass can do? Some might think so, but as part of the Glass Age, we challenge you to explore the truth surrounding glass. You might just be amazed at what glass can do.