Scotty would be proud
- Thread starter LadyT'Anna
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No need for that--looks like glass can be made stronger http://www.hexapolis.com/2015/11/03/scientists-create-unbreakable-glass-as-strong-as-steel/
That does beg the question. Would you rather be stuck on a space station with ridley scotts alien, or some bastard playing the bagpipes?
I've always loved bagpipes. And my parentage has never been in question.
Do they also serve as an auxiliary propulsion device? Looks like thrust vectoring would be simple to achieve.
At least, in space, no one can hear you practise.
At least, in space, no one can hear you practise.
Sorry
Now we know he didn't invent the stuff
Transparent Aluminum Now A Reality
By Edwin Kee on 11/03/2015
transparent-aluminum
The way mankind has progressed is impressive to say the least, and what was once in the realm of science fiction has once again, become reality. What am I referring to? Well, I remember transparent aluminum in Star Trek: The Voyage Home? Well, it seems that transparent aluminum is as real as it gets today, thanks to US Naval Research Laboratory scientist Dr. Jas Sanghera who described it as “actually a mineral, it’s magnesium aluminate. The advantage is it’s so much tougher, stronger, harder than glass. It provides better protection in more hostile environments—so it can withstand sand and rain erosion.”
Being a more durable material, it will boast of a thinner layer of spinel which is touted to deliver a better level of performance as opposed to glass. When one takes weight-sensitive platforms such as UAVs (unmanned autonomous vehicles), and head-mounted face shields, you can be sure that this is a technology that will change the way we see the world work.
Sanghera further describes the manufacturing process, so to speak, “You put the powder in [a hot press], you press it under vacuum, squash this powder together—and if you can do that right, then you can get rid of all the entrapped air, and all of a sudden it comes out of there clear-looking.” When the sheet is fresh off the press, it will be ground and polished before being refined further into other uses like bulletproof glass. Should the cost come down in due time, then consumer applications will also benefit, including smartphones and watches.
Yeah, but this time...!
From Wikipedia:
Aluminium oxynitride or AlON is a ceramic composed of aluminium, oxygen and nitrogen. It is marketed under the name ALON by Surmet Corporation.[3] ALON is optically transparent (≥80%) in the near-ultraviolet, visible and midwave-infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. It is 4 times harder than fused silica glass, 85% as hard as sapphire, and nearly 15% harder than magnesium aluminate spinel. Since it has a cubic spinel structure, it can be fabricated to transparent windows, plates, domes, rods, tubes and other forms using conventional ceramic powder processing techniques. AlON is the hardest polycrystalline transparent ceramic available commercially.[2] Combination of optical and mechanical properties makes this material a leading candidate for lightweight high-performance transparent armor applications such as bulletproof and blast-resistant windows and for many military infrared optics. AlON based armor has been shown to stop multiple armor piercing projectiles of up to 50 cal.[4] It is commercially available in sizes as big as 18x35-inch monolithic windows.[5]
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminium_oxynitride
From Wikipedia:
Aluminium oxynitride or AlON is a ceramic composed of aluminium, oxygen and nitrogen. It is marketed under the name ALON by Surmet Corporation.[3] ALON is optically transparent (≥80%) in the near-ultraviolet, visible and midwave-infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. It is 4 times harder than fused silica glass, 85% as hard as sapphire, and nearly 15% harder than magnesium aluminate spinel. Since it has a cubic spinel structure, it can be fabricated to transparent windows, plates, domes, rods, tubes and other forms using conventional ceramic powder processing techniques. AlON is the hardest polycrystalline transparent ceramic available commercially.[2] Combination of optical and mechanical properties makes this material a leading candidate for lightweight high-performance transparent armor applications such as bulletproof and blast-resistant windows and for many military infrared optics. AlON based armor has been shown to stop multiple armor piercing projectiles of up to 50 cal.[4] It is commercially available in sizes as big as 18x35-inch monolithic windows.[5]
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminium_oxynitride
Alien. At least Hadfield played an instrument that's easy to break.
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