From the record
Real cases, written from the published record. Predict first; the record and its sources come after.
1960 · the Challenger Deep
The glass float
In 1960 Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh rode the bathyscaphe Trieste to the bottom of the Challenger Deep, almost 11 km down, inside a thick steel sphere.
Today many unmanned instruments on the deep sea floor ride inside thick glass spheres instead.
Why can a glass sphere, which shatters if you drop it, survive the deep sea floor?
What happened. Glass is weak when it is pulled or bent, which is what a fall does, but very strong in compression. Deep water squeezes a sphere evenly from every side, so the glass is only ever compressed. It is also light for its size, cheap, does not rust and you can see through it.
The best material depends on how it will be loaded, not on how it feels in your hand.