Investments (Samsung Corning Precision) (Details)	1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended		3 Months Ended				6 Months Ended						6 Months Ended				1 Months Ended
	Apr. 30, 2011 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2011 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2010 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2011 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2010 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2011 Samsung Corning Precision Materials Co., Ltd. [Member] USD ($)		Jun. 30, 2010 Samsung Corning Precision Materials Co., Ltd. [Member] USD ($)		Jun. 30, 2011 Samsung Corning Precision Materials Co., Ltd. [Member] USD ($)		Jun. 30, 2010 Samsung Corning Precision Materials Co., Ltd. [Member] USD ($)		Dec. 31, 2010 Samsung Corning Precision Materials Co., Ltd. [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2009 Samsung Corning Precision Materials Co., Ltd. [Member] USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2011 Samsung Corning Precision Materials Co., Ltd. [Member] Samsung Corning Co., Ltd. [Member] USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2011 Pittsburgh Corning Corporation [Member]	Jun. 30, 2011 Other Shareholders [Member]	Jun. 30, 2011 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. [Member]	Jan. 31, 2011 SGI and Creditors [Member] USD ($)	Jan. 31, 2011 SGI and Creditors [Member] KRW	Aug. 24, 1999 SGI and Creditors [Member] USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2011 Corning Inc. [Member]	Dec. 31, 2007 Corning Inc. [Member]
Schedule of Investments [Line Items]
Net sales						$ 1,209,000,000		$ 1,208,000,000		$ 2,350,000,000		$ 2,406,000,000
Gross profit		889,000,000	827,000,000	1,763,000,000	1,558,000,000	892,000,000		928,000,000		1,747,000,000		1,853,000,000
Net income attributable to affiliate						638,000,000		715,000,000		1,248,000,000		1,416,000,000
Corning's equity in earnings of affiliate companies		428,000,000	474,000,000	826,000,000	943,000,000	325,000,000		358,000,000		624,000,000		708,000,000
Corning purchases from affiliated companies						11,000,000		3,000,000		41,000,000		21,000,000
Dividends received from affiliated companies										205,000,000		173,000,000
Royalty income from affiliated companies						64,000,000		66,000,000		125,000,000		131,000,000
Corning transfers of machinery and equipment to affiliate at cost						27,000,000	[1]	34,000,000	[1]	61,000,000	[1]	61,000,000	[1]
Ownership interest																	0.00%	7.00%	43.00%				50.00%	50.00%
Due from related parties						33,000,000				33,000,000				29,000,000
Due to related parties						24,000,000				24,000,000				5,000,000
Pre-assessment tax notice	48,000,000
Number of co-defendants				30												2
Number of other creditors		13		13
Number of affiliates		28		28
Estimated liability																						1,950,000,000
Litigation settlement, principal																				550,000,000	600,000,000
Litigation settlement, delayed interest																					20,000,000
Payment due to plaintiffs						1,300,000,000				1,300,000,000
Number of shares in SLI to be disposed										2,334,045
Less number of shares previously sold						1,165,955				1,165,955
Default rate of interest															6.00%
Cash contributed to Corsam															$ 124,000,000

[1] Corning purchases machinery and equipment on behalf of Samsung Corning Precision to support its capital expansion initiatives. The machinery and equipment are transferred to Samsung Corning Precision at our cost basis.