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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.
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.
I would be happy with a chip proof windshield!
Who cares... does it blend? Waiting...
...the audience to see the whales. I'm sure the whales were comforted seeing the inside of a Klingon Bird-of-Prey~
Bulletproof and hardness are different things. Glass is much harder than polycarbonate, for instance.
Hello Computer... [no response] oh how quaint [begins rapidly using keyboard]
I still greet my computer this way sometimes.
who will be the first to make a phone case from this?
I must say, that was an unusually well-written article. Good information level, not dumbed down, and the writer actually sounded like she knew what she was talking about.
I'm shocked.
Yeah - single crystal aluminum oxide (sapphire) is also used on tank windows, missile radar domes, satellite parts, etc... Basically anything actually worth enough to pay for it. Smartphones and tablets may actually drive production of sapphire into "reasonable" price ranges for consumers. Spinnel is too soft to be "scratch proof" - resistant maybe, but proof? No. Lots of other good uses though.
holy crap, you're picking at the pointlessness of putting windows in the tanks?!
You don't have a problem believing mankind being embarrassed when SPACE WHALES drop by to check in on their far distant relatives?!
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Sure took them a long time, when they could have simply gotten a copy of "Star Trek, The Voyage Home", and pause the video when Scotty shows the molecular model on the screen.
Like many ceramics they note that it chips rather than breaks. So you could "chip away at it". Also the material very likely has an impact stress point beyond which it will explode when impacted. So it is bullet proof up to a point. They say that it doesn't need to be layered, but in practice I'll bet they layer it with Kevlar or a similar material with complementary properties.
Of course you can take resources from the poor. Take water from a lake? or pollute the air, oil from there ground, why does this resource belong to anyone in particular. In this case an innovation developed by the government, paid by tax dollars, so it should be communal property.
You are also naive to believe the main reason people get underpaid is because they are stupid, it is because they have little choice, either through force, or they have so little, that they need to take an offer or die, lack of food, ...
Will it shatter easily at low (think -30) or high (think 120+) temperature?
ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SABACHTHANI!?
Bulletproof and hardness are different things. One exists the other doesn't.
Nothing is "Bulletproof". The proper term is bullet resistant, as in it can resist small arms fire. About the only thing you could even consider bullet proof is multiple feet of reinforced concrete buried underground. Remember, no matter how resistant it is, there is always a bigger bullet. Most of the bullet resistant armoring sold to heads of state or light military armoring can't even stop high power 50 caliber rounds. It is my understanding the presidential limo has armoring and windows that can stop a 50 caliber round, it also weigh like 12 tons. And just about nothing short of a tank can stop 2 inch or larger rounds.
Once you get up to the 6-12 inch rounds there isn't much of anything that can stop them but the solution I mentioned above. Once you are up to that size the energy that needs to be stopped is just beyond what most materials can withstand.
Armoring is constantly evolving to increase resistance but nothing is bulletproof. Not the vest the cop is wearing nor the cars sold to heads of state.
For bullet resistance you generally need high toughness, not hardeness. In a technical context toughness is the ability of a material to absorb energy without breaking, whereas hardness is the ability of a material to withstand denting, scratching, etc.
Frequently hard materials are not very tough, and visa-versa.
Where is my transporter, dammit?
It's harder (7.7) than Gorilla Glass (6.5), and much more shatter resistant than sapphire crystal, as well as sounding much cheaper to manufacture (no finicky crystal growth, can be made in the shape you require, no need to cut AND polish, maybe just polish).
Gorilla Glass is pretty darn good. I've had a Nexus 4 for some years and it has one tiny, almost imperceptible scratch on the screen (as in : I know it's there, I have to tilt the screen to reflect light and actively look for it to see it). Something even harder, that's still shatter resistant? Sign me up.