[starman]

http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/08/23/1141217

[CD Hanks]

Save the whales.

[gorickey]

I'm excited.

[Zimphire]

Now that is cool. I could see a bike being made out of that stuff.

[buffalolee]

Originally posted by CD Hanks:
Save the whales.

Good Star Trek reference. I remember watching Scotty creating the molecules for transparent Aluminum on a very old Mac. A few keystrokes, and he was done!

[rozwado1]

I want a clear Powerbook!

[lil'babykitten]

Is this really good for anything other than the cool factor?

[CD Hanks]

Originally posted by lil'babykitten:
Is this really good for anything other than the cool factor?

I'm pretty sure aluminum has high heat resistance (at least in comparason to glass), so it could have useful applications in aerospace.

[lil'babykitten]

Originally posted by CD Hanks:
I'm pretty sure aluminum has high heat resistance (at least in comparason to glass), so it could have useful applications in aerospace.

Interesting.

:Goes to read up:

[mitchell_pgh]

From /.

- I can wear my improved tinfoil hat in public without getting weird looks

[cszar2001]

Originally posted by lil'babykitten:
Is this really good for anything other than the cool factor?

Are you kidding me?
The whole thing works both ways: everything that`s made of glass can be replaced with aluminum.
Think unbreakable car windows - think unbreakable lightweight windows everywhere.
You could use them to build houses; they would carry part of the weight - that would be the revolution when it comes to architecture.

[Beewee]

Originally posted by CD Hanks:
Save the whales.

What have the whales done for me lately?

[CD Hanks]

Originally posted by Beewee:
What have the whales done for me lately?

Delicious blubber.

[cszar2001]

Originally posted by Beewee:
What have the whales done for me lately?

They are s*****g and p*****g into what someday will be your drinking water.

[drive-thru]

Originally posted by Zimphire:
Now that is cool. I could see a bike being made out of that stuff.

No you couldn't

[Randman]

I can (almost) see it now. The G5 PowerBook will be made of Transparent Alu.

[olePigeon]

Originally posted by Zimphire:
Now that is cool. I could see a bike being made out of that stuff.

But terrorists could use the aluminum to make weapons of mass destruction. Better stop the research in transparent aluminum before anything bad happens.

[John R. Smith]

great, i hope apple don't go back to making chintzy looking transparent computers like they did in the late 90s..

[Zimmerman]

I'm sure the stuff has simlar ductility and maleability properties like glass, making it impractical for things like bycicle frames (to ridgid; would shatter) and such. It might replace glass though.

[quandarry]

Originally posted by CD Hanks:
Save the whales.

i see fat people...

[GoGoReggieXPowars]

Originally posted by cszar2001:
They are s*****g and p*****g into what someday will be your drinking water.

No whales in the Great Lakes!

[f1000]

Alumina is aluminum oxide, Al2O3, which is a transparent ceramic. It is NOT transparent aluminum. Alumina is hard and brittle, and it's fairly difficult to make into thick transparent sheets. I've worked many years with the stuff.

[Mrjinglesusa]

You all are missing the point of this stuff. It is NOT clear aluminum. They made GLASS in bulk out of ALUMINA instead of SILICA. Alumina is not aluminum. It is still glass and will still break. No transparent bikes, no Star Trek. It CAN be used for optics and microscopes...

[Mrjinglesusa]

Originally posted by f1000:
Alumina is aluminum oxide, Al2O3, which is a transparent ceramic. It is NOT transparent aluminum. Alumina is hard and brittle, and it's fairly difficult to make into thick transparent sheets. I've worked many years with the stuff.

Beat me by 1 minute...

[Zimphire]

Originally posted by olePigeon:
But terrorists could use the aluminum to make weapons of mass destruction. Better stop the research in transparent aluminum before anything bad happens.

[turtle777]

Originally posted by Mrjinglesusa:
Beat me by 1 minute...

I was about to post the same thing.

It's kind of sad how much stuff people post here without ever reading the original article in question...

-t

[rozwado1]

Originally posted by GoGoReggieXPowars:
No whales in the Great Lakes!

Yeah, but Lake Erie's still filled with sh*t and p*ss.

[Landos Mustache]

Perhaps we can have bigger airplane windows.

[turtle777]

Originally posted by Landos Mustache:
Perhaps we can have bigger airplane windows.

And then ?

-t

[Landos Mustache]

Originally posted by turtle777:
And then ? :uhm:

-t

Bigger stronger windows, for looking and such.

[turtle777]

Originally posted by Landos Mustache:
Bigger stronger windows, for looking and such.

I can think of probably 1 million better uses...

-t

[Landos Mustache]

Originally posted by turtle777:


I can think of probably 1 million better uses...

-t

Well now we got 1 million and 1!

[turtle777]

Originally posted by Landos Mustache:
Well now we got 1 million and 1!

Ok. I let you !

-t

[Cody Dawg]

I'm confused...it seems like it's glass with an aluminum coating of some type?

How is it aluminum then? It's glass with aluminum on it:

_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.

[rozwado1]

Originally posted by Cody Dawg:
I'm confused...it seems like it's glass with an aluminum coating of some type?

No, they took the alumina and burninated it to create glass.

[Mrjinglesusa]

Originally posted by rozwado1:
No, they took the alumina and burninated it to create glass.

Exactly. Glass is usually made from Silica. They used alumina instead.

[voodoo]

Originally posted by Mrjinglesusa:
Exactly. Glass is usually made from Silica. They used alumina instead.

Why?

[Zimmerman]

Originally posted by rozwado1:
No, they took the alumina and burninated it to create glass.

Burnation. Five style points awarded.

[f1000]

Originally posted by voodoo:
Why?

Crystalline alumina is called corundum, the doped forms of which are better known as rubies and sapphires. Corundum is one of the hardest natural materials, has a high index of refraction, and has a high melting point. Watch windows made of sapphire are virtually scratchproof.

A cheap glassy form of alumina that is transparent would have many applications.

[Superchicken]

So in other words.. cheaper diamond rip offs?

[bradoesch]

Originally posted by drive-thru:
No you couldn't

lol!

[mac-at-kearsarge]

Originally posted by Landos Mustache:
Well now we got 1 million and 1!

************************************************** ****************
Well since I've been away from the forums for 2+ months while I got a new job, a major raise, moved, got a company vehichal that I can drive for personal use, and finally bought an iPod mini, I thought I make my return contribution in this thread with this:
************************************************** ********************

Does that make this a "+1" thread????



As for the other stuff I'll start new threads and tell you the details about them later.

[Oneota]

Originally posted by buffalolee:
Good Star Trek reference. I remember watching Scotty creating the molecules for transparent Aluminum on a very old Mac. A few keystrokes, and he was done!

"Hello, Com-pu-tor!"

"...Keyboard. Pffft. How quaint."

[powerbook867]

what about the weight factor? glass is heavy. aluminum is super light.

I want all the car windows on my WRX replace with this stuff. Strong/lightweight/clear.

freakin sweet.

[f1000]

Originally posted by powerbook867:
what about the weight factor? glass is heavy. aluminum is super light.

I want all the car windows on my WRX replace with this stuff. Strong/lightweight/clear.

freakin sweet.

Your "common sense" experience with aluminum foil is misleading you. A cubic foot of aluminum is a lot heavier than a cubic foot of glass.

Moreover, we're talking about ceramic alumina, not metallic aluminum. A windshield made of this stuff would probably cost more than your entire car.

[Cody Dawg]

f1000: You sure know what you're talking about. Ride bikes by the way? (Motorcycles.)

[GoGoReggieXPowars]

Originally posted by rozwado1:
Yeah, but Lake Erie's still filled with sh*t and p*ss.

True, and Erie empties into Ontario.

Originally posted by turtle777:
It's kind of sad how much stuff people post here without ever reading the original article in question...

Yeah, almost like Slashdot...

[bradoesch]

Originally posted by GoGoReggieXPowars:


Yeah, almost like Slashdot...

Hrm, sometimes I'd like to read this place at +5.

[el chupacabra]

Originally posted by powerbook867:
what about the weight factor? glass is heavy. aluminum is super light.

I want all the car windows on my WRX replace with this stuff. Strong/lightweight/clear.

freakin sweet.

Something that is light and way stronger than glass is lexan (a type of plastic). You should replace your windows with this. Then put a coating of it around the body of the rest of the car and it will be bullet proof. Only down side is it scratchs.

[f1000]

Originally posted by Cody Dawg:
Ride bikes by the way? (Motorcycles.)

Just the human-powered kind.