So, Star Treks Transparent Aluminum is now real...

[HiFlyer 9,358]

And seems like it will be revolutionary and have many uses. One of the things that immediately occured to me was how something like this might have reacted to the airliner window incident that occured recently.....

So many amazing advances happening all around us. Daily, science fiction becomes real, and we do things our ancestors could only ascribe to magic.

Sometimes it's good to take a second and go "Wow"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DduO1fNzV4w

 

[n4gix 4,947]

Apparently it has been around for several decades, but was only recently declassified by DARPA. I was unaware of it so I thank you for the linked video. Now I have a reference from which I can learn more about the subject.

Quote

ALONIDE™ Aluminum Oxynitride is a transparent optical ceramic powder with typical grain size of 150-250 microns and surface areas from 0.9 - 7.5 m2/g range. Aluminum oxynitride has a cubic spinel crystal structure and is four times harder than silica glass and three times harder than steel' . It is also available in ultra high purity and high purity and coated and dispersed forms. High surface area aluminum oxynitride nano layers can also be achieved using thin film by sputtering targets and evaporation technology using pellets, rod and foil. Nanopowders are analyzed for chemical composition by ICP, particle size distribution (PSD) by laser diffraction, and for Specific Surface Area (SSA) by BET multi-point correlation techniques. Research into applications for Aluminum Oxynitride includes use in aerospace to take advantage of its transparent properties due to and firmness, thermal conductivity, controllable thermal expansion and low density and for use in other coatings, plastics, and wire . Aluminum Oxynitride is generally immediately available in most volumes. Additional technical, research and safety (MSDS) information is available.

https://www.americanelements.com/aluminum-oxynitride-12633-97-5

[John_Cillis 2,406]

The question is, who traveled back in time to give us this formula, and will they return again?  Or will the Borg get here first?   Or will we have a warp drive soon, and the Vulcan's will make first contact.  Then we have to go thru all the Star Trek series, first fight them, make peace with the Klingons, etc....  And what about the Romulans?  Is peace ever made with them?  The Cardassians are already on earth, we read about their women in the tabloids...

I hope I am resting in peace long before any of this happens, LOL, waiting until the 23rd century would be too wearing and tiring, unless someone beams us all up off of earth so we can take a look around....

When I think of being a boy more than five decades ago, I think about all the things they predicted as being in the future.  Wrist/Video phones, we have that now.  The Jetsons (google the Ehang184, we have that now).  Towering cities. We were first in the States, now cities have out soared us in Dubai, in China, in Malaysia, in Japan and so on.  I may not be here to see the future, will it be like the Bruce Willis movie, that crazy movie the Fifth Element?  Should be interesting times ahead, that is for sure!

John

[Matthew Kane 1,343]

Can I get a Transparent Aluminum Back Yard Shed? That was I can see where I left my chainsaw 😎

[tutmeister 705]

5 hours ago, Cactus521 said:

who traveled back in time to give us this formula

We know who travelled back in time with the formula, it has just been classified until now... 🙂

 

Chris

[OneWhoKnocks53 51]

First transparent aluminum, next thinking machines, according to the history of the empirium the Butlerian Jihad is only just around the corner.

Edited May 2, 2018 by OneWhoKnocks53
Grammar

[Christopher Low 5,352]

Does anyone know if two humpback whales have gone missing?

[OneWhoKnocks53 51]

29 minutes ago, Christopher Low said:

Does anyone know if two humpback whales have gone missing?

I knew I wasn't crazy when I hit that invisible wall in the park!

[birdguy 3,943]

Lets put this all in perspective.  We aren't the first generation that saw new technology arrive and wondered about the future and how they, as old men and women, wondered how they would cope with it.  It's an on-going phenomenon for every generation.

Think about this.  My dad was 6 years old when the Wright Brothers made their first powered flight at Kill Devil Hills.  He saw the Jennys and the Spads.  Gasped when the DC-3s made their appearance.  Wondered about rockets and jet engines.  And he lived to see man walk on the moon.

Think of it...the first powered flight of a couple hundred feet to men walking on the moon in a single lifetime.

We aren't the first to be amazed at what tomorrow might bring.  But it's fun to gee-whiz and wonder if we can handle what's coming next.

Noel 

[Matthew Kane 1,343]

I still think the most amazing modern discovery was about 3 years ago when people all of a sudden discovered the world was flat, astounding 😃

[birdguy 3,943]

I'll vouch for that Matthew.  When I was on my to Korea in the early 50s as a young Marine aboard a troop ship we were hung up for three days at the International Date Line waiting for the disk to rotate far enough for us to continue on to Korea.  So the world was flat before we discovered it was flat three years ago.

Some of the troops who erroneously thought the world was round said we were just waiting for high tide before we could cross the International Date Line.

Noel

Edited May 6, 2018 by birdguy