Note 19 - Reportable Segments (Details) - Reportable Segments (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended				6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2013		Jun. 30, 2012		Jun. 30, 2013		Jun. 30, 2012
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net sales	$ 1,982		$ 1,908		$ 3,796		$ 3,828
Depreciation	239	[1]	237	[1]	485	[1]	471	[1]
Amortization of purchased intangibles	8		4		15		9
Research, development and engineering expenses	151	[2]	158	[2],[3]	304	[2]	316	[2],[3]
Equity in earnings of affiliated companies	117		195		256		378
Income tax (provision) benefit	(166)		(122)	[3]	(285)		(256)	[3]
Net income (loss)	501	[4]	472	[3],[4]	935	[4]	970	[3],[4]
Display Technologies [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net sales	631		641		1,281		1,346
Depreciation	117	[1]	125	[1]	241	[1]	254	[1]
Research, development and engineering expenses	18	[2]	26	[2],[3]	37	[2]	53	[2],[3]
Equity in earnings of affiliated companies	108		184		241		366
Income tax (provision) benefit	(84)		(78)	[3]	(164)		(174)	[3]
Net income (loss)	337	[4]	372	[3],[4]	686	[4]	794	[3],[4]
Telecommunications [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net sales	601		559		1,071		1,067
Depreciation	38	[1]	34	[1]	72	[1]	64	[1]
Amortization of purchased intangibles	2		2		4		5
Research, development and engineering expenses	31	[2]	35	[2],[3]	66	[2]	70	[2],[3]
Equity in earnings of affiliated companies	1		2		2		(2)
Income tax (provision) benefit	(38)		(17)	[3]	(55)		(29)	[3]
Net income (loss)	76	[4]	37	[3],[4]	111	[4]	58	[3],[4]
Environmental Technologies [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net sales	228		249		456		512
Depreciation	30	[1]	29	[1]	61	[1]	57	[1]
Research, development and engineering expenses	22	[2]	26	[2],[3]	45	[2]	52	[2],[3]
Equity in earnings of affiliated companies	1				1		1
Income tax (provision) benefit	(18)		(17)	[3]	(31)		(37)	[3]
Net income (loss)	36	[4]	34	[3],[4]	63	[4]	75	[3],[4]
Specialty Materials [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net sales	301		296		559		584
Depreciation	35	[1]	36	[1]	74	[1]	70	[1]
Research, development and engineering expenses	40	[2]	37	[2],[3]	75	[2]	74	[2],[3]
Equity in earnings of affiliated companies	3				3
Income tax (provision) benefit	(28)		(17)	[3]	(47)		(28)	[3]
Net income (loss)	58	[4]	34	[3],[4]	97	[4]	56	[3],[4]
Life Sciences [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net sales	219		162		426		317
Depreciation	14	[1]	10	[1]	28	[1]	20	[1]
Amortization of purchased intangibles	6		2		11		4
Research, development and engineering expenses	5	[2]	5	[2],[3]	10	[2]	11	[2],[3]
Income tax (provision) benefit	(13)		(5)	[3]	(18)		(11)	[3]
Net income (loss)	25	[4]	11	[3],[4]	37	[4]	23	[3],[4]
All Other [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net sales	2		1		3		2
Depreciation	5	[1]	3	[1]	9	[1]	6	[1]
Research, development and engineering expenses	35	[2]	29	[2],[3]	71	[2]	56	[2],[3]
Equity in earnings of affiliated companies	4		9		9		13
Income tax (provision) benefit	15		12	[3]	30		23	[3]
Net income (loss)	$ (31)	[4]	$ (16)	[3],[4]	$ (59)	[4]	$ (36)	[3],[4]

[1] Depreciation expense for Corning's reportable segments includes an allocation of depreciation of corporate property not specifically identifiable to a segment.

[2] Research, development, and engineering expenses include direct project spending that is identifiable to a segment.

[3] As revised for the change in our method of recognizing pension expense. See Note 1 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for a discussion of the change and the impacts of the change for the three and six months ended June 30, 2012.

[4] Many of Corning's administrative and staff functions are performed on a centralized basis. Where practicable, Corning charges these expenses to segments based upon the extent to which each business uses a centralized function. Other staff functions, such as corporate finance, human resources and legal, are allocated to segments, primarily as a percentage of sales.