Transparent aluminum is here.
February 25, 2002 9:16 AM Subscribe
Transparent aluminum is here. Star Trek IV, The Voyage Home: documentary?
Here's a picture.
Now who wants to go find the nuclear 'wessel' so we can save the whales?
posted by iceberg273 at 9:31 AM on February 25, 2002
Now who wants to go find the nuclear 'wessel' so we can save the whales?
posted by iceberg273 at 9:31 AM on February 25, 2002
Umm, doesn't it say transparent alumina (aluminium oxide) and not aluminium? Aluminium oxide is v v brittle, isn't it?
posted by Mossy at 9:43 AM on February 25, 2002
posted by Mossy at 9:43 AM on February 25, 2002
Either I've done too much LDS....
Latter Day Saints? Let's lay off the Mormons for a while, shall we? ;)
posted by jonmc at 9:57 AM on February 25, 2002
Latter Day Saints? Let's lay off the Mormons for a while, shall we? ;)
posted by jonmc at 9:57 AM on February 25, 2002
Why did they need a transparent tank in ST IV anyway?
posted by jeblis at 10:00 AM on February 25, 2002
posted by jeblis at 10:00 AM on February 25, 2002
This article (the original German one, not the link's interpretation) was torn to shreds less than a week ago on /.. I've put all of my hopes for super-strong transparent material into nanomachine-built carbond (diamond) structures.
posted by Eamon at 10:03 AM on February 25, 2002
posted by Eamon at 10:03 AM on February 25, 2002
Why did they need a transparent tank in ST IV anyway?
Because it looks so darn cool. Or maybe they wanted to keep an eye on the whales, or maybe the chemical compound Scotty pumped into that old Mac was stronger than any other aluminum, and it happened to be transparent too. But there's probably no use in questioning something that was never intended to be explained.
posted by insomnyuk at 10:04 AM on February 25, 2002
Because it looks so darn cool. Or maybe they wanted to keep an eye on the whales, or maybe the chemical compound Scotty pumped into that old Mac was stronger than any other aluminum, and it happened to be transparent too. But there's probably no use in questioning something that was never intended to be explained.
posted by insomnyuk at 10:04 AM on February 25, 2002
As someone with a Klein Quantum, this warms my heart....
posted by ParisParamus at 10:11 AM on February 25, 2002
posted by ParisParamus at 10:11 AM on February 25, 2002
kind of off topic, but: last year i remember reading an article about how they'd acomplished free-standing holograms (a la star wars), and shown it at some trade fair. i never saw a picture and never found a follow up on it. does anybody remember this and know whether it was a hoax or not?
posted by signal at 10:11 AM on February 25, 2002
posted by signal at 10:11 AM on February 25, 2002
or maybe the chemical compound Scotty pumped into that old Mac was stronger than any other aluminum
They didn't actually use transparent aluminum on their tank. Scotty just gave him the compound to get the slabs (acrylic or glass?) that they did use.
posted by jeblis at 10:12 AM on February 25, 2002
They didn't actually use transparent aluminum on their tank. Scotty just gave him the compound to get the slabs (acrylic or glass?) that they did use.
posted by jeblis at 10:12 AM on February 25, 2002
jeblis: not true.
they needed the transparent aluminum for a tank to hold the whales on the vulcan ship. transparent aluminum was needed because they had to hold such-and-such amount of water with walls only so-and-so thick (i think it was an inch and a half, or the like).
transparent aluminum was the only option, but it wasn't available, so they gave the guy the formula.
McCoy raised 'changing the past' qualms, but Scotty justified it with 'how do we know he didn't invent it in the first place?'
really, how do we?
posted by o2b at 10:24 AM on February 25, 2002
they needed the transparent aluminum for a tank to hold the whales on the vulcan ship. transparent aluminum was needed because they had to hold such-and-such amount of water with walls only so-and-so thick (i think it was an inch and a half, or the like).
transparent aluminum was the only option, but it wasn't available, so they gave the guy the formula.
McCoy raised 'changing the past' qualms, but Scotty justified it with 'how do we know he didn't invent it in the first place?'
really, how do we?
posted by o2b at 10:24 AM on February 25, 2002
now you can see for yourself if your coke cans have any syringes in them before you open them.
posted by moz at 10:34 AM on February 25, 2002
posted by moz at 10:34 AM on February 25, 2002
They didn't use transparent aluminum to build the tanks. Scotty traded the information for the polymer stuff they would need. That's why Scotty said to the plastics guy "Would that be worth something to you or should I punch up clear?" or something along those lines after he used the quaint Mac. The plastics guy said it would take a while to work out the transparent aluminum formula and then asked what Scotty would need from their factory stocks.
posted by @homer at 10:39 AM on February 25, 2002
posted by @homer at 10:39 AM on February 25, 2002
OK, this thread clearly and painfully answers the "is metafilter a bunch of male geeks?' question that was raised in MeTa recently. I love it when we're cliché. Beam me up, indeed...
posted by umberto at 11:26 AM on February 25, 2002
posted by umberto at 11:26 AM on February 25, 2002
OK, this thread clearly and painfully answers the "is metafilter a bunch of male geeks?' question that was raised in MeTa recently.
One data point does not a result make.
posted by iceberg273 at 11:33 AM on February 25, 2002
One data point does not a result make.
posted by iceberg273 at 11:33 AM on February 25, 2002
The plastics guy said it would take a while to work out
Plastics guy: "It would take years to work out the dynamics of this matrix"
Scotty: "Is it worth something to you laddy..or should I just punch up clear"
I'm just being picky. It looked a whole lot cooler with the transparent tank. Anyone know what current material could be used that is clear and could support the weight of the water/whales?
posted by jeblis at 12:08 PM on February 25, 2002
Plastics guy: "It would take years to work out the dynamics of this matrix"
Scotty: "Is it worth something to you laddy..or should I just punch up clear"
I'm just being picky. It looked a whole lot cooler with the transparent tank. Anyone know what current material could be used that is clear and could support the weight of the water/whales?
posted by jeblis at 12:08 PM on February 25, 2002
I've put all of my hopes for super-strong transparent material into nanomachine-built carbond (diamond) structures.
There is a lot of work being done right now with regard to nano and micro-scale "tough" ceramics. However, the majority of the work is on exactly that same scale, ala thin film materials. There has really not been, as far as I know, a successful transfer from results seen on this small scale to a bulk scale that would be necessary for something like tank armor.
posted by TractorInc at 4:41 PM on February 25, 2002
There is a lot of work being done right now with regard to nano and micro-scale "tough" ceramics. However, the majority of the work is on exactly that same scale, ala thin film materials. There has really not been, as far as I know, a successful transfer from results seen on this small scale to a bulk scale that would be necessary for something like tank armor.
posted by TractorInc at 4:41 PM on February 25, 2002
Umberto: I don't think anybody on ST:TOS ever said "Beam me up." I know for sure that Kirk never uttered those allegedly immortal words, "Beam me up, Scotty." He did say them, however, in one of Shatner's "Star Trek" novels.
And because I know you want to know for sure, what Scotty said when McCoy complained that they were changing the past was, "How do we know he didn't invent the thing?"
Finally, I'm pretty sure they used the transparent aluminum for the whale tank, because when the subject of taking the whales back to the future in the Klingon ship was first broached, Scotty said they'd "just" need some transparent aluminum. Then somebody pointed out that in the late 20th century, said material had not been invented and ... well, you know the rest.
That is all. Live long and prosper. \\ //
[stage whisper] male geeks, indeed. where do people get these ideas?
posted by diddlegnome at 5:06 PM on February 25, 2002
And because I know you want to know for sure, what Scotty said when McCoy complained that they were changing the past was, "How do we know he didn't invent the thing?"
Finally, I'm pretty sure they used the transparent aluminum for the whale tank, because when the subject of taking the whales back to the future in the Klingon ship was first broached, Scotty said they'd "just" need some transparent aluminum. Then somebody pointed out that in the late 20th century, said material had not been invented and ... well, you know the rest.
That is all. Live long and prosper. \\ //
[stage whisper] male geeks, indeed. where do people get these ideas?
posted by diddlegnome at 5:06 PM on February 25, 2002
No, they did not use transparent aluminum for the whale tank. The guy told him he'd need a piece of plastic so many inches thick, and since he couldn't pay for it, Scotty gave him the formula for transparent aluminum.
posted by kindall at 5:45 PM on February 25, 2002
posted by kindall at 5:45 PM on February 25, 2002
i'd love to get my hands on some of this material, for interior design purposes.
posted by Dom at 8:44 PM on February 25, 2002
posted by Dom at 8:44 PM on February 25, 2002
kind of off topic, but: last year i remember reading an article about how they'd acomplished free-standing holograms (a la star wars), and shown it at some trade fair. i never saw a picture and never found a follow up on it. does anybody remember this and know whether it was a hoax or not?
I don't know about any trade fair but Arthur C. Clarke attended a dinner in his honor by hologram only a little while ago (it's not right at the beginning of the video).
posted by DyRE at 5:59 AM on February 26, 2002
I don't know about any trade fair but Arthur C. Clarke attended a dinner in his honor by hologram only a little while ago (it's not right at the beginning of the video).
posted by DyRE at 5:59 AM on February 26, 2002
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posted by ColdChef at 9:31 AM on February 25, 2002