Investments (Samsung Corning Precision) (Details)	1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended					0 Months Ended			12 Months Ended					12 Months Ended
	Apr. 30, 2011 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2009 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Other Shareholders [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. [Member]	Jan. 11, 2011 SGI And Creditors [Member] KRW	May 07, 2010 SGI And Creditors [Member] USD ($)	Aug. 24, 1999 SGI And Creditors [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 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 ($)	Sep. 30, 2009 Samsung Corning Precision Materials Co., Ltd. [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2007 Samsung Corning Precision Materials Co., Ltd. [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Samsung Corning Precision Materials Co., Ltd. [Member] Samsung Corning Co., Ltd. [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Pittsburgh Corning Corporation [Member]
Schedule of Investments [Line Items]
Net sales										$ 4,171,000,000	$ 4,856,000,000	$ 4,250,000,000
Gross profit		3,566,000,000	3,049,000,000	2,093,000,000						2,942,000,000	3,731,000,000	3,053,000,000
Net income attributable to Samsung Corning Precision										2,061,000,000	2,946,000,000	2,212,000,000
Equity in earnings of affiliated companies		1,471,000,000	1,958,000,000	1,435,000,000						1,031,000,000	1,473,000,000	1,115,000,000
Corning sales to Samsung Corning Precision												30,000,000
Corning purchases from Samsung Corning Precision										107,000,000	33,000,000	37,000,000
Corning transfer of machinery and equipment to Samsung Corning Precision at cost										113,000,000	121,000,000	78,000,000
Dividends received from Samsung Corning Precision										492,000,000	1,474,000,000	490,000,000
Royalty income from Samsung Corning Precision										219,000,000	265,000,000	232,000,000
Current assets										3,560,000,000	3,122,000,000
Noncurrent assets										3,890,000,000	3,791,000,000
Other current liabilities										498,000,000	696,000,000
Other long-term liabilities										241,000,000	252,000,000
Non-controlling interest										11,000,000	35,000,000
Ownership interest					7.00%	43.00%				50.00%			50.00%	50.00%		50.00%
Revised tax holiday			61,000,000
Due from related parties										16,000,000	29,000,000
Due to related parties										11,000,000	5,000,000
Pre-assessment tax notice	46,000,000
Number of co-defendants		30													2
Number of other creditors		13
Number of affiliates		28
Estimated liability									1,950,000,000
Litigation settlement, principal							600,000,000,000	550,000,000
Litigation settlement, delayed interest							20,000,000,000
Payment due to plaintiffs										1,300,000,000
Number of shares in SLI to be disposed										2,334,045
Less number of shares previously sold										1,165,955
Default rate of interest												6.00%
Cash contributed to Corsam													$ 124,000,000