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Why don't they make Cell Phone screens out of Sapphire

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DCal430

Diamond Member
Sapphire is highly transparent, extremly hard, and highly resistant to scratching. You could drop the phone from very high heights and it still wouldn't shatter. It is also highly transparent at the visible light wavelenght. Seems like it would make the ideal phone material. You could even make a phone that was clear all around.
 
I think it would cost WAY too much. We're not all ballers that can have gem stone screens for our phones. 🙂
 
Isn't that what they used to protect camera on iPhone 5?

I would guess 1) cost, or 2) perhaps finding proper balance between ultimate hardness and brittleness (e. g. how samurai sword is forged with different types of steel (carbon steel?) folded onto each other so the edge / outer shell is extremely hard but core is also sufficiently flexible that it doesn't shatter because of brittleness when sword strikes something. IIRC from The History Channel (?) episode I saw on how samurai swords are made, a well made one can cut a man completely in half (bones and all) when wielded by a skilled samurai warrior.



edit: looks like it was Discovery Channel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5erZqSyiT38&feature=channel&list=UL(start around 7:40 mark)
 
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I'm sure sapphire is lolexpensive.

also--high rigidity isn't the greatest thing, it often makes things easier to shatter.

i'm also thinking that it would suck for touch, no?
 
jagec said:
It isn't, really. You can get single-crystal optical grade polished sapphire windows (WAY higher-end than you'd use for cellphones) for pretty cheap.

That's a relative term, of course. I'm sure Gorilla Glass is far cheaper.
Click to expand...

I dunno. I prefer my cell phones bigger than 12 mm.

By the timer you're getting to smallphone screen size, the cost might be an issue: $600 for a 3" diameter sapphire glass.
 
mshan said:
Isn't that what they used to protect camera on iPhone 5?

I would guess 1) cost, or 2) perhaps finding proper balance between ultimate hardness and brittleness (e. g. how samurai sword is forged with different types of steel (carbon steel?) folded onto each other so the edge / outer shell is extremely hard but core is also sufficiently flexible that it doesn't shatter because of brittleness when sword strikes something. IIRC from The History Channel (?) episode I saw on how samurai swords are made, a well made one can cut a man completely in half (bones and all) when wielded by a skilled samurai warrior.



edit: looks like it was Discovery Channel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5erZqSyiT38&feature=channel&list=UL(start around 7:40 mark)
Click to expand...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=rwQqtf86qOc&NR=1
 
most high end watches use a sapphire face. about half my watches have sapphire faces.

The big issue is that it is very brittle. If you dropped your phone it would be even more prone to breakage than the current materials. It is highly scratch resistant though.

I'm not sure how its conductivity is as far as being a good touch screen surface though.
 
Mark R said:
I dunno. I prefer my cell phones bigger than 12 mm.

By the timer you're getting to smallphone screen size, the cost might be an issue: $600 for a 3" diameter sapphire glass.
Click to expand...

A cellphone-designed piece would be much thinner and much lower grade. And possibly polycrystalline, I dunno.
 
Schfifty Five said:
Your lack of correct punctuation is horrendous.
AdolphHitlerSpeech.Gif
Click to expand...

I fixed your post. Your facial expression means more
 
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