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Breakthough Makes Transparent Aluminum Affordable

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.

1 of 247 comments (clear)

  1. Re:But will it blend? by Meshach · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Who cares... does it blend? Waiting...

    I would think that bullet proof will not bend. If it was able to bend a bullet would go through it.

    --
    "Maybe this world is another planet's hell"
    Aldous Huxley