How do scientists make glass stronger? Break it.
Brookhaven Lab physicists and engineers take this hands-on approach a step further. In order to strengthen the design of glass bulbs known as photomultiplier tubes, the researchers submerge the devices in 500,000 gallons of pressurized water, punch a small hole through their sides, and watch as the glass cracks, crunches, and, just milliseconds later, implodes (see videos below).
The implosion of a photomultiplier tube in a tank at BNL, as seen through combined high-speed camera images. Time scale: 6,000 frames per second.
Fifty thousand…
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