Glassy carbon

[2] Glassy carbon was first observed in the laboratories of The Carborundum Company, Manchester, UK, in the mid-1950s by Bernard Redfern, a materials scientist and diamond technologist.

He noticed that Sellotape he used to hold ceramic (rocket nozzle) samples to the floor of a furnace transformed "into an unusual structure that preserved its original form" after firing in an inert atmosphere.

[3] He searched for a polymer matrix to mirror a diamond structure and discovered a resole resin that would, with special preparation, set without a catalyst.

While working at the Plessey Company laboratory in Towcester, UK, Redfern received a glassy carbon crucible for duplication from UKAEA.

The contribution of Redfern to the invention and production of glassy/vitreous carbon is acknowledged by his co-authorship of early articles,[4] but references to him were not obvious in subsequent publications by Cowlard and Lewis.

Glassy or vitreous carbon was under investigation used for components for thermonuclear detonation systems and at least some of the patents surrounding the material were rescinded (in the interests of national security) in the 1960s.

RVC foam is a strong, inert, electrically and thermally conductive, and corrosion-resistant porous form of carbon with a low resistance to gas and fluid flow.

[citation needed] Due to its specific surface orientation, glassy carbon is employed as an electrode material for the fabrication of sensors.

[11] Vitreous carbon and carbon/carbon fibre composites are used for dental implants and heart valves because of their bio-compatibility, stability and simple manufacturing techniques.