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Transparent Aluminum a Reality

TuballoyThunder writes "Many of us remember the scene from Star Trek IV where Scotty barters the formula for transparent aluminum for a small run. It now appears that we can now add transparent aluminum to the science fact column."

59 of 759 comments (clear)

  1. Coming soon to a school court near you! by marsperson · · Score: 4, Funny

    The ability to wrap your mother's sandwiches in transparent aluminum and loose your apetite before you even unwrap it!

  2. Hmm by psilonaut · · Score: 5, Funny

    How quaint.

  3. The article is disappointing by kg_o.O · · Score: 5, Funny

    No pics :(

    1. Re:The article is disappointing by GroeFaZ · · Score: 5, Funny

      Nothing for you to see here. Move along.

      --
      The grass is always greener on the other side of the light cone.
    2. Re:The article is disappointing by Erik+Hensema · · Score: 5, Funny

      Using some elite slashdot h4x0ring skillz, I am able to post a picture of transparent aluminum right here for you:








      Nice, eh?

      --

      This is your sig. There are thousands more, but this one is yours.

    3. Re:The article is disappointing by kg_o.O · · Score: 3, Funny

      Think you can fool me by posting a pic of transparent milk chocolate?
      Think again!

  4. soda by Cave_Monster · · Score: 5, Funny
    Does anyone remember being told when they were a child, not to leave your can of drink open while outside for fear of a wasp/bee getting inside and consequently a painful next sip?

    Perhaps with this technology we can have see-through cans and this will no longer be a problem :)

  5. iPod Nano screen by jabuzz · · Score: 5, Funny

    Sound just what Apple need to make some scratch resistant screens for the iPod Nano :)

  6. Beanie by svvampy · · Score: 4, Funny
    Does this mean that I can get a new beanie that will protect me from the mind-controlling probes of the government, but not make me look more like a freak?

    I don't think that'll catch on.

    1. Re:Beanie by iamdrscience · · Score: 2, Funny

      Dude, just do what I do and line your existing hats and headware with aluminum.

  7. Finally! by Moe+Napoli · · Score: 4, Funny

    I can now order my Wonder Woman jet! Now's where's my Golden Lasso and Amazon Bangles? Soon I hope. Now, if only surgery took well, I'd be all set...

  8. Re:A Great Send-Off by Spock+the+Baptist · · Score: 4, Funny

    What do you want to bet that it was designed on a Macintosh...

    Oh would that ever be sweet! :D

    --
    "Oh drat these computers, they're so naughty and so complex, I could pinch them." --Marvin the Martian
  9. no doubt patented already... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    The Air Force Research Laboratory's materials and manufacturing directorate is testing aluminum oxynitride -- ALONtm

    And look.. the trademark is built right in as well!

  10. In a related story: by dummyname12 · · Score: 4, Funny

    The military is planning to test this new material on its nuclear wessels.

    1. Re:In a related story: by coolGuyZak · · Score: 2, Funny

      Hold on, wouldn't this be the first time we can make new clear wessels?

  11. finally! by rootedgimp · · Score: 1, Funny

    now i can wear my tinfoil hat without people looking at me weird. technology++

  12. Whales by thelonestranger · · Score: 2, Funny

    Hmmmm....Has anyone noticed a pair of humpback whales going missing recently?

    --
    To err is human. To forgive is not company policy.
  13. Case mod! by gobbledok · · Score: 3, Funny

    A transparent case made of aluminium...Mmmmm, aluminium..

    --
    47 Meelion Dollars!?! I'm the cat!
  14. Re:hmm by B2382F29 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Well, that would cost you an arm and a leg ... either way.

    --
    Move Sig. For great justice.
  15. Re:transparent oxide-nitride, not a metal by AuMatar · · Score: 4, Funny

    I hope not, then I'd have to start wearing pants!

    --
    I still have more fans than freaks. WTF is wrong with you people?
  16. Hey! by dangitman · · Score: 3, Funny

    I'm 40% aluminium! Bender

    --
    ... and then they built the supercollider.
  17. Star treck Ipods by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Finally, scrach-resistance for my Ipod Nano!

  18. Re:virtually scratch resistant? by Viol8 · · Score: 4, Funny

    It means it'll resists anything except a bunch of bored teenage
    scratch-taggers armed with screwdrivers at 3am on a sunday morning.

  19. Re:Super Polish by AGMW · · Score: 5, Funny
    Double the strength by polishing?

    This isn't that strange, and certainly here on SlashDot I'd expect the readership to be well aware how things can get harder if they are rubbed the right way.

    --
    Eclectic beats from Leeds, UK
    handmadehands.co.uk
  20. Transparent Tin Foil Hats by wangotango · · Score: 5, Funny

    How will the rest of the world recognize us if our tinfoils hats are transparent?

  21. God dammit! by PhotoBoy · · Score: 2, Funny

    Scotty's been messing with the timeline again! What next, Mr. Scott? Warp drive in the Victorian era?

  22. Re:So the questions is, by Chicane-UK · · Score: 2, Funny

    I think he did a little too much LDS.

    --
    "Hey! Unless this is a nude love-in, get the hell off my property!!"
  23. Re:Aluminium! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

    yeah, they lower the high jump bar in the special olympics too

    Americans.... i guess they're doing the best they can

  24. nearly, but not quite... by williamhb · · Score: 5, Funny

    Unfortunately, from the article it seems ALONtm is noted for it's high compressive strength, whereas to build the sides of a whale-sized bath you need high tensile strength. Unless of course it's a particularly aggressive whale and keeps shooting armour-piercing rounds at the side of the bath, but then the bigger question would be "how did it pull the trigger"?

  25. Call Apple by beest · · Score: 2, Funny

    Sounds like a hell of a nice screen protector for the nano

  26. Re:Oh, *that*! by williamhb · · Score: 2, Funny
    Nah, it was "nuclear wessels"!!!
    Blast, I thought he said "nuclear whistles" and sent him down to the toy store. Oh well, there goes the earth in the 23rd century. Talk about careless talk costing lives...
  27. Re:Ooooh. -- wrong by mr_z_beeblebrox · · Score: 5, Funny

    You're at the 58th floor of a building.
    There is a fire. You can't use the stairs or elevators.
    A)You break the glass, jump out and fall to your death.
    B)You don't break the glass and suffocated because of the smoke.

    Either way, you're toast.

    Wrong...
    A) You're jam
    B) You're toast

    The difference isn't subtle.

  28. Re:A Great Send-Off by metricmusic · · Score: 3, Funny

    I KNEW it! Scotty didn't die. He just went back in the Bird of Prey.

    Everyone, check your local marine park for missing Whales now!!

    --
    http://www.livejournal.com/users/metricmusic
  29. Re:Humvee Windshields by WoodieR · · Score: 2, Funny

    sure, they will, it's only your tax dollars, you gots lots of those ...

    --
    Question Authority before IT questions You ...
  30. Re:Unintended joke? by moro_666 · · Score: 3, Funny

    a) cost of a sandwich :
      about 1$

    b) cost of a research to invent invisible aluminium :
      about 1 zillion $

    c) the face of your boss when he takes a bite of
    his lunch and appears to have mouth full of cutting metal :
      priceless

    ----
    it would be cool to "see" a pc case made out of it thou (obviously you cant see it but you can pretend it's there :p)

    --

    I'd tell you the chances of this story being a dupe, but you wouldn't like it.
  31. Re:Unintended joke? by Jason1729 · · Score: 4, Funny

    it would be cool to "see" a pc case made out of it thou (obviously you cant see it but you can pretend it's there :p)

    You mean the way uoi can't see a case made oud of acrylic?

    Damn, I had a drinking glass full of water on the table somewhere, if only it weren't invisible I could find it....oh yeah, clear != invisible.

  32. Re:A Great Send-Off by SteveAyre · · Score: 5, Funny

    Sorry but no, you must be wrong.

    I just checked and I can't find any missing whales anywhere.

  33. Computer....computer? by digitaldc · · Score: 2, Funny

    Scotty: Computer. Computer?

    [Bones hands him a mouse and he speaks into it]

    Scotty: Hello, computer.

    Dr. Nichols: Just use the keyboard.

    Scotty: Keyboard. How quaint.

    I see a multitude of uses for transparent aluminum including semi-transparent road signs, reinforced windows and cool computer cases. Scotty lives!

    --
    He who knows best knows how little he knows. - Thomas Jefferson
  34. Re:Unintended joke? by Eq+7-2521 · · Score: 3, Funny

    But that does beg the question, what are we going to do with all those bodies?

    --
    At my age I find coming up with a witty signature too exhausting.
  35. Re:Aluminium Reality or Aluminum Realty? by Chops+II · · Score: 2, Funny

    G'day As being 8th or so generations from a convict on the second fleet, i take offense to that! Shuttup before i steal your bread. And it's spelled colour. COLOUR!!!! not to mention mum etc.... Now, excuse me while i tend to my kangaroos and e-moos.

  36. Re:Unintended joke? by indifferent+children · · Score: 4, Funny

    While you're spending your $1z on research, can you find out if transparent aluminum foil protects from government mind control rays as well as regular aluminum foil? Not that I'll believe your government-funded 'research'.

    --
    Censorship is telling a man he can't have a steak just because a baby can't chew it. --Mark Twain
  37. In other news, Apple announces new PowerBooks by Dekortage · · Score: 2, Funny

    Not to be outdone by the Air Force, Steve Jobs just announced that the forthcoming PowerBook G5 will feature a bulletproof transparent aluminum case. This follows Apple's longstanding tradition of using expensive metals for G4 laptop cases: first titanium, now airplane aluminum, soon transparent aluminum. Apple designer Jonathan Ives expressed some disappointment that they had not yet been able to create a commercially viable uranium shell, but was optimistic that the transparent aluminum would still be sexy.

    --
    $nice = $webHosting + $domainNames + $sslCerts
  38. Re:Humvee Windshields by just_another_sean · · Score: 2, Funny

    Well sure it's expensive now. How is the inventor going to get "rich beyond the wildest dreams of avarice" otherwise?

    --
    Creationist Textbook Stickers Declared Unconstitutional by CowboyNeal
  39. Re:A Great Send-Off by glesga_kiss · · Score: 2, Funny
    Is that because he tries talking into the mouse on a mac in Star Trek IV, or are you just another idiot mac troll?

    Both.

  40. Re:Unintended joke? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    You guys forgot to mention the morons who mix up "there" and "their"

  41. Re:Unintended joke? by houghi · · Score: 4, Funny

    can you find out if transparent aluminum foil protects from government mind control rays as well as regular aluminum foil?

    Yes, it does. It is even much, much better, so change your regular with the transparent one.

    Not that I'll believe your government-funded 'research'.

    Oh, in that case: The transparent version does NOT protect you. The regular one is much better.

    Now that I wrote that, you rpobably think the regular one is better. See? We are already in your head.

    --
    Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
  42. Re:Unintended joke? by SatanicPuppy · · Score: 2, Funny

    And "they're".

    All the correct usages put together in a sentence would look like: "There going over their to play with they'reselves."

    Or something.

    --
    ad logicam Claiming a proposition is false because it was presented as the conclusion of a fallacious argument.
  43. Re:Humvee Windshields by SatanicPuppy · · Score: 1, Funny

    Yea, Saddam shoulda known better than to rule a country with all that oil...Man he was asking for it!

    --
    ad logicam Claiming a proposition is false because it was presented as the conclusion of a fallacious argument.
  44. Re:A Great Send-Off by CaptDeuce · · Score: 4, Funny
    ALONtm is virtually scratch resistant, offers substantial impact resistance, and provides better durability and protection against armor piercing threats, at roughly half the weight and half the thickness of traditional glass transparent armor, said the lieutenant.

    [time warp]

    Tuesday, October 13, 2009

    Cupertino CA -- Apple Computer faces rising complaints of "scratches" that reportedly developed on the cases of their iPod Angstrom virtual reality player. The device, which feeds audio, video, and olfactory images directly to the brain, is implanted under the skin behind the ear, remaining there for up to three days. It is this repeated insertion and extraction of the device which causes scratches on the iPod's case.

    "The scratches are obvious," say disgruntled user Mitch Burnsome, "I can see them clearly under my microscope, at maginications as low as 20 times. Apple's quality control is dreadful."

    Apple responded that the iPod Angstrom case is very durable. "The case is made of ALONtm which is used as armor on tanks and Humvees; it's virtually scratch resistant," said Apple spokesperson Anton Natale. "Steve Jobs has been using a prototype for the past six months and declares that it works so well with his brain that it's 'sanely great'."

    Since the release of the iPod Angstrom four hours ago, Apple has sold 7 million units. The price of Apple stock dropped 7% after analysts complained that sales were projected to be 7.1 million units by this time.

    --
    "Where's my other sock?" - A. Einstein
  45. Re:Unintended joke? by lowrydr310 · · Score: 3, Funny
    From TFA: "The substance itself is light years ahead of glass"

    So this new transparent aluminum is roughly 9.46 × 10^12 kilometres ahead of glass?

  46. Re:A Great Send-Off by borg007 · · Score: 3, Funny

    In other news, a man ,Homeland Security believes to be a Chechen rebel, was seen wandering the streets of nearby towns looking for nuclear wessels.Is it a coincidence he has shown up just as transparent aluminum has become a reality? He was accompanied by a dark skinned woman of possible Somalian origin. They are just people of interest at this point.

  47. Re:Unintended joke? by somersault · · Score: 2, Funny

    An unspecified amount of light years.. who knows how many :S maybe as a side effect of the 'transparent aluminum' creation process they discovered the secret to interstellar travel?

    --
    which is totally what she said
  48. Re:Unintended joke? by Citizen+of+Earth · · Score: 4, Funny

    it's crazy how many people use loose instead of lose though.

    Yeah, what loosers!

  49. English is by Smallest · · Score: 3, Funny

    http://mercury.ccil.org/~cowan/essential.html#Engl ish

    Written English is essentially a variety of Old French invented by somebody who spoke only Saxon and read only Latin.
    --Basilius

    English is essentially an imprecise dialect of Java, without the object orientation.
    --Julian Morrison

    English is essentially bad Dutch with outrageously pronounced French and Latin vocabulary.
    --Eugene Holman

    English is essentially Norse as spoken by a gang of French thugs.
    --Benct Philip Jonsson

    English is essentially a bizarre dialect of Chinese, pronounced entirely in the first tone.
    --John Cowan

    English is essentially Low German plus even lower French minus any sense of culture.
    --Danny Weir

    English is essentially Anglo-Saxon with all the cool bits taken out.
    --Thomas Leigh

    --
    I have discovered a truly remarkable proof which this margin is too small to contain.
  50. Re:Dude, 'Aluminium' *is* the correct one. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    English doesn't just borrow words from other languages. It sometimes stalks other languages, drags them into a back alley, beats them senseless, and rifles through their pockets for new words. Sometimes, the words get a bit spindled in the process, but English doesn't care, it just likes new words.

  51. Re:Unintended joke? by DahGhostfacedFiddlah · · Score: 2, Funny

    Irregardless of you're misunderstanding me, your making the write decision, as you can loose alot of time caring about opinions on /.

  52. Re:Unintended joke? by steveness · · Score: 2, Funny

    This is Slashdot, man! We get confused just thinking about the existence of women, let alone the correct usage in a sentence.

  53. Re:No, you're wrong by Spock+the+Baptist · · Score: 3, Funny

    "So aluminum was the first spelling, which was later change by language nazis because it didn't sound right."

    If you see someone with an adhesive label on their lapel or shoulder with a upside-down lower case e on it then you'll know that they're a member of the language nazis.

    By their schwas-stickers ye shall know them....

    --
    "Oh drat these computers, they're so naughty and so complex, I could pinch them." --Marvin the Martian
  54. Wow... by Jambon · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...transparent aluminium actually exists? I won't believe it till I see it!