Reporting online this week in Materials Letters the researchers say they used samples of the glass about 50micromerters thick, or about half the diameter of a human hair, which they etched in acid until the samples eroded to a thickness of only 10 to 20 micrometers. Then they hooked the samples to two electrodes and applied an increasing voltage to test the material’s breakdown strength: its ability to withstand electrical energy. When the material reached this breakdown limit ---- at about 22,000 volts ---- the stored energy was released in what resembles “a lightning bolt conducting through air,” says co-author Nicholas Smith.
研究人员本周在《材料快报》的网站上发表了论文，研究人员称他们使用了大约50微米厚、约相当于人的头发截面直径的一半的玻璃片作为样品，在酸里把这些样品的厚度一直腐蚀到仅剩10－20微米，然后把它们接到两个电极上，并逐渐增加电压以测试该材料的击穿强度，即材料承受电能的能力。当该材料达到击穿极限（大约2.2万伏）时，正如该论文的一位合著者尼古拉斯·史密斯所说，释放储存的电能就像“通过空气导电的闪电一样”。
