A manufactured version of sapphire — not a gemstone like this one — could be your next phone screen.

Discussion:  New screens for smartphones and tablets could be made from manufactured sapphire.  Sapphire is the second hardest material on the plant (second only to diamond), and would make the screens on tablets and smartphones about three times stronger than they are now.  The cost to manufacture a sapphire screen is about $30 a piece, compared with glass that only costs $3 per phone.  If the cost of sapphire screens can be reduced, they might be a viable option to traditional glass screens in the consumer market. 

Source:  CNN News

Date:  March 21, 2013

Link:  http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/21/tech/mobile/sapphire-smartphone-screens/index.html

Discussion Questions:

• Why is having a sapphire screen an attractive idea?
• How else might the human-made version of this gemstone be used in the technology marketplace?