How Corning Glass Changed The World

July 30, 2024

When asked who they think the most innovative company in the world is, people often reply with answers such as Apple, Google or Facebook - Classic silicon Valley companies. However, there are multiple that far outshine these companies. One of these is a 150 year old glass maker called Corning. It is one of the few companies to not only be relevant after more than a century and a half of being in business but remain at the forefront of innovation.

The easiest way to show Corning impact is to take out your phone. Chances are the glass plating on your phone would be made by Corning (usually under its brand name Gorilla Glass). This is true for most smartphone and tablet models since Corning has shipped over 8 billion of such devices. All iPhone models, many Samsung phones and Google Pixels use Gorilla Glass.

But that's just the very beginning. Going back in time, the company's first major impact occurred in the late 19th century when Thomas Edison was looking for a maker for his light bulbs. Corning took up this challenge and created methods that enabled the mass production of light bulbs. This eventually culminated in the invention of the ribbon machine in 1926 which made glass bulbs significantly cheaper and affordable for millions of people. And this was just the beginning.

Interestingly, for much of the 20th century Corning was a household name. During this century, Corning introduced the popular Pyrex brand and CorningWare - both of which have become household staples. The popularity and ubiquitousness of these products propelled Corning into a trusted consumer brand. Their focus on high quality yet affordable products enabled them to weave their way into homes.

Not stopping there, Corning transformed the television industry by creating vacuum tubes en masse and cheaply for early cathode ray television sets. These tubes were made from glass and Corning helped pioneer the process for producing them cheaply. These big box-like TV sets prevailed for much of the 20ths century and brought moving pictures into the homes of people worldwide. Though obsolete now, this creation meant they played an important role in two common household items - lighting and TV’s.

Another important development occurred in the 1970s when Catalytic Converters were created. They are basically ceramic filters used on cars to filter out toxic substances emitted from exhaust. They played a huge role in reducing air pollutants and actually contributed to increasing the IQ in people by reducing the harmful effects of noxious exhaust. Now, many readers can thank the company for being smarter as well!

When we think of glass, people generally think of windows or maybe drink ware. But glass is actually prevalent in so much of our lives and does so much for our quality of life. Some types of glass have to be specialized for different applications. They include the glass used on the spacecraft in the Apollo missions (the ones that put a man on the moon). And yes, Corning made those as well. In fact, the glass windows on all Apollo missions were made by Corning. Additionally, for applications like 3D Sensing (used for applications such as facial recognition), glass has importance there as well. 3D sensing device makers have two key considerations when choosing an optical material. First the material must have the lowest coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), so that it’s least susceptible to changes in temperature. This ensures that the device consistently delivers the most accurate pattern whether it’s operated on a hot, summer afternoon or a cold, winter night. Second, the material must have extremely high purity to minimize errors from occurring. As you’d expect Corning makes those as well.

Yet, their most significant developments have to do with optical fibers - they are basically glass stands that transmit light. Why are they important? For one, they can be used in medical imaging sensors for minimally invasive surgery and diagnosis. This is in large part due to the optical fibers' thinness - often not much thicker than a strand of hair. They can also be used in decorations where various strands of optical fibers create light patterns. However, a large part of their application is with the internet. Yes, the internet and the most likely reason you’re reading this now. Optical fibers have often been called the backbone of the internet. They are used to transmit information (in the form of text, images and videos) across the internet. While not invented there, 2 very significant parts of the development of such fibers were made by scientists at Corning without which optical fibers wouldn’t have been practical for large scale applications.

Corning is still strong in optical fibers today and they are one of the largest and leading manufacturers of optical fibers in the world. Yet, some of their products like glass bulbs for electrical lights, vacuum tubes for televisions, they no longer make. For other products like Pyrex, the company has sold off the brand. While it may seem they are losing business by doing so, they are instead demonstrating their remarkable flexibility by constantly adapting with the times. While most businesses are no longer leading the forefront of innovation after so long, Corning has retained their advantage. Their pace of innovation with glass and ceramics made the world better off and they’re not done yet.

In early 2011, they released a YouTube video - in my view one of the best ever created. This video highlighted their vision for the future. Made in a time where video content on social media was still focused on amateurish videos, they led the charge by investing in a professional video that went viral. Due to the length of over 5 minutes, it was too long for a commercial, too short for a documentary but a perfect length for a YouTube video. By crafting it at that length, they lead the way for high quality social media content. Feel free to check out the video here.