Transparent Aluminum now a reality!

[Bob Hubbard]

http://www.theverylastpageoftheinternet.com/newclaims/aluminum/transparent_aluminum.htm

Yet another exampl of Star Trek tech becoming a reality!

 

[Touch Of Death]

Originally posted by Kaith Rustaz
http://www.theverylastpageoftheinternet.com/newclaims/aluminum/transparent_aluminum.htm

Yet another exampl of Star Trek tech becoming a reality!

That is very interesting; however I wonder what uses a non - Anodized piece of aluminum will have?

 

[Bob Hubbard]

A 10 times 10 centimeters large disk (strength: ) only about 400 gram weigh, are however three times harder 1.0 cm as hardened steel. With firing tests under contract of the German Federal Armed Forces from the Bundeswehr in Koblenz "outstanding results" were obtained, report the researcher Andreas Krell.

Also in the US state Idaho were examined the tiles: The pentagon is fascinated of the transparency of the material, with which firingfixed of visors or large windows of armored reconnaissance vehicles can be built.

More Info:
http://www.keelynet.com/interact/arc_1_99-4_99/00000412.htm

http://www2b.abc.net.au/science/k2/stn/archives/archive1/newposts/11/topic11096.shtm
This link has a bit more info:

Bad News: Transparent Aluminium doesn't exist.

Good News: This indicates many polite, educated people are actually reading the site, as none of the mail called me an idiot and about 80% of it was thoroughly educational.

Point of contention: The article states the substance in question is alumina, which I presumed was simply a German spelling of aluminum (despite being closer to a latin-based spelling)...partially spurred on by the caption to the picture in the original article actually saying "transparent aluminum." My science background not being in chemistry, I completely missed that alumina is shorthand for aluminium oxide... a ceramic, which is why it makes more sense for a company specializing in ceramics to have developed a transparent version of it.

Now, this doesn't make it any less impressive, because they've apparently managed to not only make it transparent, but seriously overcome the hardness (which usually also means brittleness) factor of alumina, if the firing tests are to be assumed to have been the German Federal Armed Forces shooting at them (especially if the US military has expressed an intrest in using it for visors or tank windows), rather than kiln firing tests performed by German Federal Dishwasher Assoc.

Which I think clears it up a bit....maybe.