Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science and the Université Pierre et Marie Curie (UPMC) in Paris, France, have identified a method for manufacturing longer-lasting and stronger forms of glass. The researchers say this could lead to more durable display screens, fiber optic cables, windows and other materials, including cement.

Glasses are liquids that are cooled in the manufacturing process to reach a stable “frozen liquid” state. As glass ages and is exposed to temperature variations, it continues to flow or “relax,” causing it to change shape.

Over time, windows and digital screens can deform, eventually becoming unusable. In the case of cement that has a molecular structure similar to that of glass, relaxation eventually leads to cracking. In bridges and tall buildings, this can result in a loss of structural integrity.

UCLA’s Mathieu Bauchy and Matthieu Micoulaut of UPMC identified what they say are optimal conditions for developing more durable glass and cement.

By performing computer simulations to test the molecular dynamics of materials commonly used to make glass, they have identified a range of pressures that are best for achieving “thermal reversibility,” in which a material will retain the same properties it had when it was produced, even if it has been exposed over time to variations in temperature.

“The key finding is that if you use specific conditions to form glass—the right pressure and the right composition of the material—you can design reversible glasses that show little or no aging over time,” Bauchy says.