Transparent Aluminum

http://blog.makezine.com/2012/01/17/transparent-aluminum/

by 127001brewer • 15 years ago

113 28 15 years ago

blog.makezine.com

powertower• 15 years ago

The Presidential limo is rumored to have its windows made out of this stuff.

dspillett• 15 years ago

I has also been used to build a tank for transporting humpback whales between the 20th and the 23rd centuries.

bdg• 15 years ago

I heard it was designed with a manual interface as well. How quaint.

twelvechairs• 15 years ago

Key sentence: "successfully resists a huge, powerful .50 AP bullet that smashes easily through more than twice that thickness of conventional laminated glass armor"

So in reality this is a modest improvement (2x) over existing laminated glass armour for use where both thickness and resistance are critical (ie. probably for specialist military applications only)

nickolai• 15 years ago

> So in reality this is a modest improvement (2x) over existing laminated glass armour

More than 2x actually - the guy behind the glass would be dead, unlike the one behind their improved glass. I'd say this is a significant difference - they deserve some extra credit for keeping the guy behind their armor alive.

I do find the title a little misleading though, since this has nothing to do with metallic aluminum as one would expect from reading the title.

endtime• 15 years ago

>More than 2x actually - the guy behind the glass would be dead, unlike the one behind their improved glass.

I think what twelvechairs meant is that you have to buy (at least) twice as much of the old stuff to keep the guy alive.

jonhendry• 15 years ago

How do their weights compare?

If the new stuff is the same weight by volume as conventional laminated glass, then you'd have a 50% weight savings.

If the new stuff is thinner, and lighter, then it'd be useful for applications where the current glass is too thick and/or heavy.

Also, in applications like secure windows for bank tellers and such, something thinner would probably be better aesthetically. When you're dealing with someone behind a thick sheet of glass, it puts a different tone on the interaction.

absconditus2• 15 years ago

I doubt that most "bullet-proof" glass could stop a 50 caliber round at all. The thickness required would be ridiculous.

aidenn0• 15 years ago

Alon is ~3.7g/cc which is about twice what ordinary glass weighs. Not sure how it compares to laminated glass. They probably use a denser glass than I'm used to for armored glass, but it's layered with other, presumably less-dense material.

absconditus2• 15 years ago

Without knowing the failure points of both products I am not sure how you can make such a claim. The glass failed in this demonstration and the ALON did not. Obviously the glass needs to be even thicker (making it a ridiculous solution in most cases) and the ALON might work even if it is thinner.

billswift2• 15 years ago

"The material, aluminium oxynitride, known as AION, is four times harder than fused silica glass, 85 per cent as hard as sapphire and stable up to a temperature of 1,200C."

Quote from the Daily Mail article linked above.

gus_massa• 15 years ago

The title is a little misleading.

This material is not metallic transparent aluminum. It is a transparent aluminum ceramic.

A lot of ceramics are made (in part) of aluminum. I think that this is interesting because it's transparent.

durkie• 15 years ago

Agreed. AlON is cool stuff, but sapphire / aluminum oxide is just as transparent.

Maybe they can do a followup on transparent silicon next: this silicon dioxide stuff is super clear!

starwed• 15 years ago

It's phrased that way because of the Star Trek IV reference.

I think it comes up in the same scene where Scotty is flustered because the 1980's computer doesn't respond to voice commands...

philwelch• 15 years ago

> the 1980's computer

Which is, incidentally, a Mac Plus.

redthrowaway• 15 years ago

"Use the mouse."

Scotty picks up mouse, speaks to it

"Hello computer..."

From the comments, it seems not many people got the reference. That's a shame, as it means people are either not a fan of Star trek (blasphemy), or are not old enough to get the reference, which makes me feel antiquated.

mindhunter• 15 years ago

So this is what the next macbook pro will be made of?

pavel_lishin• 15 years ago

Only if a significant number of people show up at the Genius Bar with bullet-riddled macbooks.

hyperbovine• 15 years ago

There are hidden bullet sensors all over the chassis, you wouldn't stand a chance.

ben1040• 15 years ago

Here's one to start you off.

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/macbook-gun-shot-israel-sec...

kingkawn• 15 years ago

remind me to try reading this tomorrow

rplnt• 15 years ago

Blacked out. This SOPA thing could be really bad.

billswift2• 15 years ago

Those sites that are completely blacked out, like makezine and Wikipedia, are doing exactly what many accuse DRM of doing. Annoying their users while producing no real benefit. Google's and HN's methods are better.

ADDED: Most of them don't particularly matter to me, I rarely use Wikipedia, for example. The one that has annoyed me is the Internet Archive blackout - www.archive.org

RBerenguel• 15 years ago

I was expecting some Star Trek reference in the comments. Seriously, nobody? Everyone blackened their geekdom to fight SOPA?

Ctech237• 15 years ago

That was the first comment I was gonna write when I saw the title, but you beat me to it.

ximeng• 15 years ago

That other engineering news source "The Daily Mail" has a non-blacked out article on this.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2088257/Star-...

lotharbot• 15 years ago

Non-blacked out wikipedia entry:

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminium_oxynitride

slmbrhrt• 15 years ago

  McCoy: You know, if we give him the formula, we'll be altering the future.
  Scotty: Why? how do you know he didn't invent the thing!

Transparent Aluminum

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