Origami-inspired technique used to created folded glass objects
Most three-dimensional glass objects are produced via either a molding, blowing or perhaps even 3D-printing process. Chinese scientists, however, have devised a technique of folding such items into shape – and it has some key advantages over other methods.The origami-inspired process was devised by Yang Xu, a graduate student working in the lab of Prof. Tao Xie at Zhejiang University.Xu started by mixing nanoparticles of silica into a solution of a photosensitive liquid polymer and other compounds. Exposure to ultraviolet…