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Breakthough Makes Transparent Aluminum Affordable

Posted by Soulskill on from the hello-computer dept.

frank249 writes: In the Star Trek universe, transparent aluminum is used in various fittings in starships, including exterior ship portals and windows. In real life, Aluminium oxynitride is a form of ceramic whose properties are similar to those of the fictional substance seen in Star Trek. It has a hardness of 7.7 Mohs and was patented in 1980. It has military applications as bullet-resistant armor, but is too expensive for widespread use.

Now, there has been a major breakthrough in materials science. After decades of research and development, the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory has created a transparent, bulletproof material that can be molded into virtually any shape. This material, known as Spinel (magnesium aluminate), is made from a synthetic powdered clay that is heated and pressed under vacuum into transparent sheets. Spinel weighs just a fraction of a modern bulletproof pane.

3 of 247 comments (clear)

  1. Bullets are OK, but... by houstonbofh · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I would be happy with a chip proof windshield!

    1. Re:Bullets are OK, but... by Em+Adespoton · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Indeed -- the last thing I want are shards of something with a hardness of 7.7 and razor sharp edges flying around. Think obsidian arrowheads, and then think of something that'll hold an edge even better.

      What I'd like to know about is how flexible the stuff is. Usually, the harder a material is, the more rigid it is -- which means that it is super hard right up to the point where it can't take the stress, at which point it fractures all over the place.

      Safety glass gets around this by 1) being pretty flexible and 2) being a laminate of hard and soft materials, so that when the hard material shatters, it is still bonded to enough of the soft material to avoid (many) sharp edges.

      I wonder what the behavioral properties of a laminate of spinel and lexan would be....

  2. ST only needed transparent aluminum for... by starglider29a · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...the audience to see the whales. I'm sure the whales were comforted seeing the inside of a Klingon Bird-of-Prey~