Posted on 07/27/2009 11:22:27 AM PDT by saganite
Oxford scientists have created a transparent form of aluminium by bombarding the metal with the worlds most powerful soft X-ray laser. Transparent aluminium previously only existed in science fiction, featuring in the movie Star Trek IV, but the real material is an exotic new state of matter with implications for planetary science and nuclear fusion.
In the journal Nature Physics an international team, led by Oxford University scientists, report that a short pulse from the FLASH laser knocked out a core electron from every aluminium atom in a sample without disrupting the metals crystalline structure. This turned the aluminium nearly invisible to extreme ultraviolet radiation.
''What we have created is a completely new state of matter nobody has seen before, said Professor Justin Wark of Oxford Universitys Department of Physics, one of the authors of the paper. Transparent aluminium is just the start. The physical properties of the matter we are creating are relevant to the conditions inside large planets, and we also hope that by studying it we can gain a greater understanding of what is going on during the creation of 'miniature stars' created by high-power laser implosions, which may one day allow the power of nuclear fusion to be harnessed here on Earth.
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencedaily.com ...
Yep. Should be any day now...
;^)
Recycled aluminum clothing.
-PJ
I can’t wait for transparent recycled aluminum clothing!
What we need is Rearden metal!
“There be whales here!”
Which this administration would promptly confiscate and rename "miracle metal".
I may be showing my age here, but I’m kinda thinking Wonder Woman and her invisible airplane!
I just tried a Google search for "transparent aluminum" and the pic I was referring to popped right up.
http://www.rense.com/general20/transparentalum.htm
Some sources refer to it as "transparent alumina", a ceramic oxide made from finely powdered aluminum subjected to intense heat. Perhaps some metallurgists here can explain the distinction between this and what is being described in the new article.
So are emeralds and rubies.
Now we can’t be busted for open container good deal.
So I guess the results of this process were positive... /g
Not the European version. Pretty good stuff but not up to a good German pils and not even close to a Guinness.
Its called Budweiser, oh wait that was tasteless beer.
Probably Pabst, which was like making love in a canoe.
Will...... not .. make... geek... references....
Will...... not .. make... geek... references....
Too late. By reading this post you identified yourself as a geek. Else, why would you even read it? LOL
Still better than Schlitz which was heave inducing. And that’s after the first beer.
I loved that movie...
“But transparent aluminum is impossible..”
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