In ASM International’s recent article, the publication discusses an exciting development happening at Yale University. The team researching mechanical engineering and materials science is in the middle of refining technology that may someday soon be in mass production.

While also being durable, bulk metallic glass (BMG) has the elasticity of a plastic. Professor Jan Schroers characterizes this new material to be ‘50 times harder than plastic, almost 10 times harder than aluminum, and 3 times harder than steel'. Schroers also shares his success melting and molding BMG at high temperatures. By taking advantage of the material’s liquid state, Schroers is able to transform BMG through shaping.

The full article and video explains how Schroers manipulates this material to create possibly the next generation of smartphone cases. (Look for an Instron testing system in the lab, supporting this research and development at the Yale School of Engineering and Applied Science.)

Video courtesy of Yale University.