Reflecting on the Many Uses of Glass

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This Behind the Scenes article was provided to LiveScience in partnership with the National Science Foundation .

Biocompatible, bioactive glass is one focus of research at the NSF International Materials Institute for New Functionality in Glass located at Lehigh University. The glass may one day be used as a scaffolding for aiding bone growth and healing in people with injuries.

Disc shaped telescope lens in the sun.

A photo of obsidian-like substance, shaped like a jagged shard

a close-up of a material that forms a shape like a Grecian urn in a test tube

A cross-section of the new copper alloy, with the orange dots representing copper atoms, the yellow tantalum atoms, and the blue lithium atoms.

a close-up of a handmade stone tool

A picture of a pink, square-shaped crystal glowing with a neon green light

Military vehicles carrying DF-17 missiles parade through Tiananmen Square in Beijing on Oct. 1, 2019, celebrating the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Peoples Republic of China.