Transparent Aluminum Is Here

Alien54 writes "Scientists in the US have developed a novel technique to make bulk quantities of glass from alumina for the first time. (link includes a picture of samples) Anatoly Rosenflanz and colleagues at 3M in Minnesota used a "flame-spray" technique to alloy alumina (aluminium oxide) with rare-earth metal oxides to produce strong glass with good optical properties. The method avoids many of the problems encountered in conventional glass forming and could, say the team, be extended to other oxides (see also: A Rosenflanz et al. 2004 Nature 430 761). Scotty would be pleased."

Comments

Scotty would be pleased.

[inertia187]

Yes. It seems that he didn't pollute the time-line after all.

Re:Scotty would be pleased.

[zackeller]

Of course he did. It just took 28 years for them to figure out the formula.

Re:Scotty would be pleased.

[Silburn_Luke]

Are you kidding? Where do you think these bozos got the idea from in the first place?

I'll lay odds a burly guy with a dodgy scottish brogue was around their head office trying to use a mouse as a dictaphone not too long ago....

Regards
Luke

Re:Scotty would be pleased.

[Picass0]

Double Dumb-ass on you!

Re:Scotty would be pleased.

[essreenim]

Computer. Hello computer.
Oh, a keyboard, how quaint.

!

Re:Scotty would be pleased.

[fitten]

Are you sure this isn't a time for a colorful metaphor?

Re:Scotty would be pleased.

[AKAImBatman]

Excuse me! Can you direct me to d'he nearest nuclear wessel in Alameda?

(The amusing part about that statement is that the Russian language has no 'W' sound!)

Re:Scotty would be pleased.

[AKAImBatman]

he was later understood to have remarked,

"A Windows Key. How quaint!"

A Windows Key? On a Mac?!?

Re:Scotty would be pleased.

[jettoblack]

I suggest you say "Tea." before "Earl Gray. Hot," otherwise you might end up with a flaming Duke. ;-)

Re:Scotty would be pleased.

[pomakis]

It just took 28 years for them to figure out the formula.

You mean 18! (or are you posting to Slashdot... from the future! (*GASP!*))

Re:Scotty would be pleased.

[AKAImBatman]

You forgot:

7) Jokes usually need a grain of truth or a plausible premise in order to be funny.

e.g. "3 girls jumped off a building. Which one hits last? The one who stopped to ask for directions!"

That's not funny because it's a ridiculous situation with no roots in reality. On the other hand,

"A Blonde, a Brunette, and a Red Head all jump off a building. Which one hits last? The Blond! She had to stop and ask for directions!"

That is funny because the premise for the joke is a commonly held belief that blonds are dumb. Of course, such suppositions are often flawed and allow for an equally amusing joke that makes the exact counter point:

"So a Blond walks into a bank and asks for a two week loan of $10,000. Dubious of the Blond's motives, the bank manager asks for collateral. The Blond replies that she could always put her Mercedes up as collateral, since it was worth far more than her loan. The bank manager agrees, and drives her car into the bank garage after loaning her the money.

"In two weeks the Blonde returns with the $10,000, plus the $5.00 interest on the loan. As the manager returns the keys to her car, he asks, 'I did some checking while you were away. It seems you're loaded with money! Why did you need a loan for two weeks?' To which the Blonde replies, 'Where else in New York can I park my car for two weeks and only pay $5.00!'"

Re:Scotty would be pleased.

[AKAImBatman]

I can't believe that no one bit on the opening! The obvious response is, "I think they're in Alameda"!

Re:Scotty would be pleased.

[jellomizer]

If you are sending this from the future please send me the specs on how to send messages back in time. I have some interesting algorhitms I want to test.

Re:Scotty would be pleased.

[AviLazar]

replicators. "Earl Gray. Hot."

You would think with all that technology, and thousands of terrabytes of hard drive space that the retarded ass computer would remember Picards drink. He always gets his Earl Gray hot!. If I was him I would say "Give me my damn tea you stupid excuse for a computer. Hell even Windows remembers my preferences!" :)

Re:Scotty would be pleased.

[Fulcrum of Evil]

If you are sending this from the future please send me the specs on how to send messages back in time. I have some interesting algorhitms I want to test.

Yes, I too have some questions regarding probability theory that I wish to test.

Re:Scotty would be pleased.

[SnarfQuest]

As a tribute to Scotty, everyone shoule now pick up their mouse and talk into it.

"Beam me up, Scotty, there isn't any intelligent life down here."

Re:Scotty would be pleased.

[fyngyrz]

Tests??? To heck with that. I have some prices on stocks I wish to check.

Re:Scotty would be pleased.

[StalinsNotDead]

Wouldn't that be

1. Recieve message from future self.
2. ???
3. Profit!
4. Send message to past self.

Re:Scotty would be pleased.

[dfn_deux]

Reminds me of a Cisco Cert class I was in once upon a time. The instructor was telling us about how when he was teaching the CCIE course in Britain that one of his students kept correcting his pronounciation of the word route (rah - out) saying that the proper pronounciation was route (root). My instructor finally lost his patience and replied "WE [Americans] invented the damn thing and we will call it whatever the hell we want."
Cracks me up everytime I think about it.

Re:Scotty would be pleased.

[Izmunuti]

bah, Picard wasn't a gadget guy. He couldn't be bothered to fiddle with the presets to his replicator. If you look close, it has a blinking "12:00" on one of the displays.

Re:Scotty would be pleased.

[AKAImBatman]

I'm happy for the French, I really am. But you know what? I'm not French, nor do I speak it. Therefore, "rendezvous" is seriously screwed up in the English language.

The core of the problem is that French nearly supplanted the entire Anglo-Saxon language at some point. Thus they tried to get us to adopt their idiosyncrasies rather than taking five minutes to rewrite "rendezvous" as "rondevoo". Or even better, break the word down into Latin roots and rebuild it as an English word. But noooo, it's easier to saddle the unsuspecting English with words like "attache" instead of allowing them to simply use "attachment".

Re:Scotty would be pleased.

[falzer]

I know this has been said before, but...

1. Post tales of the future back in time to Slashdot in the form of 'predictions'.
2. ???
3. Prophet!

woohho

[obli]

The whales will have a safe journey home!

Re:woohho

[dave1791]

Do you know what happens to people who ask such questions?

Transparent aluminum foil

[SammysIsland]

Now I can watch as the food in the fridge turns green... Ye-hah!

Re:Transparent aluminum foil

[noidentity]

Now I can watch as the food in the fridge turns green

More importantly, I can wear my improved tinfoil hat in public without getting weird looks.

Re:Transparent aluminum foil

[NoData]

Tinfoill hat are made of tin.
Like, duh!

Paranoid kook n00b :)

Re:Transparent aluminum foil

[iabervon]

Unfortunately, the transparent stuff isn't very good for blocking EM radiation in the critical petahertz range...

Re:Transparent aluminum foil

[NoData]

Unfortunately, you're overlooking the fact that tinfoil is made from alumin[i]um.

Oh yeah? Well only real tin effectively blocks the barquathian mind-control rays from the planet Booftar, that they're co-developed with the CIA and Nabisco to control the populace.

This is largely because it is frequently used in food storage and preparation, and tin is poisonous, so isn't a good choice.


And you believe that?! Looks like they've already gotten to you, bub.

Transparent alumuinum is here...

[hal2814]

...but I still can't do something primitive like use my mouse to talk to the computer.

Re:Transparent alumuinum is here...

[salzbrot]

Well you have to take LDS first, than it might work...

Get a free iPod. Here is how it works.

Re:Transparent alumuinum is here...

[nosaj72]

Are you saying only Mormons get to talk to their computer?

Begin Star Trek comments in....

[nitehawk214]

Oh who am I kidding, there are already a bunch of them by now...

in other news...

[DrCash]

And in a seemingly unrelated story released today in the year 2367, humpback whales are being re-released in the wild after over 350 years of extinction. Starfleet Captain James T. Kirk saved the planet from the clutches of an unknown alien probe by travelling back in time to retrieve two humpback whales to repopulate the species!

And the rest of the story,... is available on DVD!

Re:Future echoes

[abb3w]

Don't forget the Mark I Tricorder.

Yes but...

[condour75]

We're so far behind on launching ubermenchen into deep space on the Botany Bay. And where's Voyager VII?

Re:Silly submitter

[criordan]

What next, suggesting people use the silicon in their computers as a breast implant?

You mean like Seven of Nine?

and Bones and Scotty can look for a whale tank

[evil-osm]

.. oh... joy.

10 bucks to the first company....

[d3ity]

10 bucks goes to the first company/person to make me a case out of this stuff.

Re:Dammit, i wanted to RTFA

[gwizah]

Scotty (speaking to server): Computer...Hello Computer!

Capt. Kirk: Scotty...We need more usr req's!

McCoy: It's dead Jim.

Re:It's not aluminum, it's alumina.

[Ba3r]

woah! transparent hydrogen! Maybe they can make superstrong containers to transport toxic dihydrogen oxide.

I mean, after the tiger-repelling rock, I thought i learned not to misunderestimate science!

yes, but...

[dyfet]

Is it region coded? In 2367 can one finally get a region free dvd?! And, finally, what everyone wants to know is, did the copyright on mickey finally expire?!

impeccable timing

[MORTAR_COMBAT!]

Star Trek IV was on CBS on Saturday night. I stayed up to watch the transparent aluminum scene -- who knew the real thing was coming just 2 days later?

Tin-foil hat

[craigmarshall]

Woohoo! This means I can build myself a covert tinfoil hat!

Re:Submitter - Not Silly

[PatrickThomson]

Yeah, and that reminds me, there's this horrific new danger-chemical being given to children, it's made from hydrogen, the most flammable gas in existence, and oxygen, the pure essense of burning, I mean the safety implications are enormous! stop DHMO now!

Re:Future echoes

[black mariah]

They work by literally warping the spacetime around the vessel. This decreases the apparent distance the ship has to travel. Theoretically, warp drives are possible but if Hawking hasn't invented them yet I don't think we're going to see any for a while.

See, that's the kind of shit you learn reading Slashdot. I'm going to go shoot myself for being a massive fucking dork now.

purdy pieces!

[nanimo]

"Attractive optical properties" must be nerd talk for "pretty"...

No he wouldn't!

[geeber]

Rosenflanz and Gildenflurn are dead!

sorry, go ahead mod me down. I couldn't help it!

PowerBook

["Zow"]

Somehow, I get the feeling that Apple is going to use this for the next gen of PowerBooks.

(It's a joke -- all the materials scientists don't need to correct me.)

-"Zow"

Re:Future echoes

[justanyone]

I like your list. But, what about the things we haven't invented yet?

• Defensive shields (no, Mark Shields doesn't count)
  
• Andorian Brandy
  
• Warp drive
  
• subspace communicators
  
• reliable space probes
  
• orbiting dry docks
  
• artificial gravity
  
• cheap fusion power
  
• drugs that combat radiation sickness
  
• a 'sterile field' for doing operations
  
• funny little plasma torches they're always using
  
• antimatter containment
  
• Theme music that plays when something bad is about to happen
  
• Doors that swish open when you walk towards them
  
• Computers that play __3-D chess__ !
  
• (People that play 3-D chess)
  
• Food dispensers that assemble the food from component molecules as needed
  
• Shuttlecraft that go into orbit without dropping any parts off during the ascent
  
• Spacesuits that don't look like medieval suits of armor
  
• Deflector shields that work on uncharged objects
  
• Glasses (or contacts) that automatically fog up when looking at a beautiful foreign woman that you're destined to seduce and abandon

Of course, I'm probably forgetting lots of stuff. Anyone have further things I've missed??

I sence a great disterbence in the force..

[sjwt]

As If a million Startrek geeks cryed out in joy.

Re:Future echoes

[Patrik_AKA_RedX]

reliable space probes

Now how long are the voyager probes doing their thing? Quite long IIRC. I'd call that reliable.

Doors that swish open when you walk towards them

Never been to a supermarket I presume?

Re:Future echoes

[FireFury03]

communicators - hell mobile phones are far better than communicators

I hate to think what interstellar roaming charges are like though :)

"Making large sheets of ruby and sapphires"

[anactofgod]

Now that's a headline I'd get excited about.

I'd love a pair of sapphire-lensed sunglasses.

Should we leave all of the Star Trek jokes...

[Myrmi]

"...or shall I just punch up clear?"

Re:You are such a geek...

[jameskojiro]

The Answer is:

Plexicorp

I wanna cookie now!

Shouldn't we be doing something... constructive?

[Riff6809]

"Rosenflanz and colleagues at 3M in Minnesota" One of those colleagues wouldn't happen to be named Guildenstein, would they?

Re:Sounds like a good plan for optical disks

[mikael]

I once knew a guy who had this great idea to use aluminum oxide on DVDs and CDs to prevent scratching. He said the disks could be bulletproof, scratchproof, and unbreakable, although I think he was exagerating...

I could just imagine the crime scene:

Police Officer: Can you describe the person who attempted to raid the bank?

Witness #1: Yes, he was covered in head to toe with CD's glued to his clothes.

Police Officer: Can you give me any further details?

Witness #1: I think the CD's had words on them "AOL trial account - 14 days free service".

Never understood that.

[Gordonjcp]

It's *TEA*, it's *supposed* to be hot! Why the un-necessary "Hot" at the end of Picard's request?

Presumably he had a run of bad tea-machine experiences like this:

"Tea, Earl Grey." <sip> "Awww fuck my old boots, it's half-cold and stewed you fucker"

Re:Never understood that.

[Hard_Code]

"Tea, Earl Grey." "Awww fuck my old boots, it's half-cold and stewed you fucker"

Oh man, what I wouldn't give to actually hear Jonathan Stewert proclaim that!

MAKE IT SO BITCH!

Re:Never understood that.

[Xentor]

Oh man, what I wouldn't give to actually hear Jonathan Stewert proclaim that!

*cough*Patrick Stewart*cough*

Come on, what kind of geek are you? :)

Re:Never understood that.

[Wehesheit]

Patrick Stewart you stewed fucker

Re:Never understood that.

[Clueless Moron]

I always assumed that at some point, somebody spilled their tea on their crotch, got a nasty burn, and sued the bejeesus out of McDonalds^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H the replicator manufacturing company.

And so, after that, all replicators were programmed to only serve warm tea, unless the user specifically asked for "hot".

Re:Never understood that.

[nacturation]

Jonathan Stewart? Is this some freaky future episode where Jonathan Frakes (Riker) and Patrick Stewart (Picard) have a son together?

Time-line

[dodongo]

Well, at least we can have comfort that here in a couple hundred years when they go back and introduce transparent aluminum to some guy in San Francisco in the mid-80s, they're not going to disrupt the timeline too terribly much.

Re:Submitter - Not Silly

[Waffle Iron]

Isn't Aluminum a major constituant part of Alumina? (along with Oxygen)... Seams to me that that makes the term 'Transparant Aluminum' valid.

I tend to agree: I prefer to say that the cars I had in high school were built largely out of "Brown Steel".

That's great, but...

[ZipR]

I still can't talk to my mouse. How long do I have to wait for that?

Re:That's great, but...

[TheDigitalOne]

Go ahead, you can talk to your mouse all you want, you only need to get worried when it starts answering you... more so when it starts winning the arguments.

Is there a Klingon ship?

[Anonymous Coward]

Could anyone please check if there is a Klingon ship cloacked somewhere over SF park? Like, can you please go around a throw arrows every now and then upwards?

Thank you.

Oh, and don't forget the 'Beam Me Up' sign! It could help!

I'm surprised...

[saddino]

...Anatoly Rosenflanz was still able to get Scotty's formula off his original Macintosh after all these years.

What I love about Slashdot.....

[ericlakin]

....is the fact that a reference to Scotty at the end of a post about transparent aluminum is understood with a group "nod and smile".

Re:Future echoes

[Frostalicious]

Of course, I'm probably forgetting lots of stuff. Anyone have further things I've missed??

Computer terminals that, when shot at, give off a massive electrical discharge, killing the operator.

The terminal, however, continues to function. Apparently the secret is to use the operator as the electrical ground for the system.

*I* sense a great disturbance in...

[whats_a_zip]

Your spell checker!

transparent al

[damned_in_davis]

hurray! now noone will be able to see my aluminum hat!

Scotty missed a great oppertunity.

[Toby_Tyke]

Just think, he could have patented this in the 80's, then turned up 300 years to file for damages and 3 centuries of back dated licensing.

message from future; patent!; profit!; ...

[FlippyTheSkillsaw]

1. Recieve message from future self.
2. Patent Everything!
3. Profit!
4. Send message to past self.

You see, it's really not that hard to get rich.

Re:Future echoes

[shadowbearer]

Kirk: Scty bme^

Scotty: What?