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Scientists create ultraviolet-transparent aluminum
Oxford scientists say they've created transparent aluminum, but is it similar to what we saw in Star Trek IV? Well, not really. Using a powerful FLASH laser that produces brief pulses of "soft x-ray light," they knocked out an electron from every aluminum atom in a lab sample. Because this process didn't disrupt the metallic lattice structure of the metal, it magically turned the aluminum into a substance transparent to ultraviolet light.
Compounds containing aluminum have already been created (such as the aluminum oxynitride pictured above), but this is the first time pure aluminum has been rendered transparent. But you won't really be able to see through it — it's only invisible to extreme ultraviolet radiation. The amazing part? ''What we have created is a completely new state of matter nobody has seen before," said Professor Justin Wark.
There's a catch, though: The aluminum sample turned transparent was tiny — less than a 20th of the width of a human hair in diameter. And the amount of power required to create this minuscule window was equal to that of a power plant providing electricity to an entire city. Oh, and the see-through aluminum reverts quickly back to its natural state. But hey, it's a start. Scientists are saying the technology used to create this entirely new state of matter might also help in the quest for generating power using nuclear fusion.
Via Physorg
By jay trini at 5:48 PM ON 07/28/09
"a ultraviolet" or "an ultraviolet".
By jay trini at 5:59 PM ON 07/28/09
With due respect to Professor Wark, how is it that we have a new state of matter. I'm not doubting his professional opinion, it's just that I want to understand. States of matter differ in the amount of energy in the mass causing it to be solid, liquid, gas or plasma, Right or wrong? ....and atoms losing an electron (especially a metal) is natural and necessary for any kind of bonding, Right or wrong? I just want to understand the basis for his statement. Anyway, Professor, well done!!! Keep at it because I need some panes of that stuff for the windows I'm installing. I'll wait until you get transparency to the visible spectrum. Hooowaaah!!!!
By Pennarin at 9:33 PM ON 07/28/09
Small but persistent rant: Can everyone involved in writing these science and technology news bits stop using "magic" in the descriptions of the wonderful stuff they present? About every other story uses it, and that term is wholly innapropriate for anything of this genre. Maybe if Syfy was for kids, but it isn't. Nothing magically happens, for any reasons. We all understand it is science at work, Nature's laws, but known, unknown, and unsuspected.
By Mosrhun at 10:38 PM ON 07/28/09
@Pennarin
It's called humor. Everyone knows that it is only through the power of Jesus that these electrons were removed.
By Dave.T at 10:39 AM ON 07/29/09
@Mosrhun,
Actually since 'magic' was mentioned it must be the work of the devil. Had they used the word 'miracle' it would have been Jesus. :)
By Q at 11:36 AM ON 07/29/09
"A wise man once said that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" -Arthur C. Clarke
By R3MY at 1:50 PM ON 07/29/09
@ jay trini:
From FoxNews.com:
"The Oxford team, along with their international colleagues, focused all this power down into a spot with a diameter less than a twentieth of the width of a human hair. At such high intensities the aluminum turned transparent.
While the invisible effect lasted for only an extremely brief period – an estimated 40 femtoseconds – it demonstrates that such an exotic state of matter can be created using very high power X-ray sources."
It seems that the new state of matter currently only possible under the conditions of the high powered X-ray sources.
Much like plasma is an ionized gas, what they have is essentially an ionized solid. Unlike a superconductor or a condensate, this state of matter has a unique set of properties and it requires a phase transition to take place.
But please keep in mind that I am interpreting this for myself, and I am only an armchair physicist.
By R3MY at 1:56 PM ON 07/29/09
As soon as I re-read that, it sounded like I was saying that superconductors and condensates do NOT have unique properties - they DO. I simply meant that those are other examples states of matter that closely resemble the traditional solid state of matter. [/Geeksplanation]
By M.P. at 4:18 AM ON 07/30/09
YAY! We just wasted a million dollars worth of of energy resources WE could be using on something so small, it's already "invisible" that has the useless life span less than that of a fly. What they should be working on is better energy sources, so that when they try this stuff they don't send the planet into the stone age just to see a piece of metal the size of a coffee coaster go clear with only something virtually no normal person even could ever have access too. That way we can make progress without the pain.
I'm all for this stuff, but it's not like we ever get a say as to what our hard earned taxes are being thrown at. That's all i'm saying.
By Techrat3D at 6:50 AM ON 07/30/09
I am just amazed of what humans can accomplish. Especially the technological feats in the last 30 years.
Ok. So the transparency is not permanent. But that will only be a matter of time, until they solve that, and the power problem.
@M.P. Yes. They wasted a lot of money. But did you ever consider the benefits that can result from these experiments?
NASA used quite a bit of taxpayers money, but a lot of items and knowledge gained is being applied to daily used items. Items even you use. ;)
By Sierra at 6:54 AM ON 07/30/09
"Oxford scientists say they've created transparent aluminum, but is it similar to what we saw in Star Trek IV? Well, not really. "
way to get our hope up and then smash our dreams.
Dvice is obviously affiliated with SCIFI (I will never call it "syfy") because it disappoints geeks like me
By moviedemon at 9:21 AM ON 07/30/09
Yawn...
In May, 1995 Poplular Mechanics published an article about how the military was testing transparent aluminum for use in body armor, helmet visors, humvee windshields, etc.
It is apparently scratch-proof and can stop an armor-piercing bullet.
Granted, it turned out the compound was actually aluminum oxide - and a ceramic instead of a metal, but it comes a hell of a lot closer to the "Star Trek" version of transparent aluminum than this does.
By Tibby at 10:29 AM ON 07/30/09
So, I guess they didn't get this from Scotty? For if they had, they'd already have it right. Right!?
By ptrobrn at 1:38 PM ON 07/30/09
Hello computer.
Maybe you should use this... (mouse)
Hello computer?
By Frank at 2:01 PM ON 07/30/09
I always thought that "transparent aluminum" was a euphemism for "saphire" which is the transparent material "aluminum oxide."
By the tick at 2:49 PM ON 07/30/09
Scotty is the man!
By bb at 5:30 PM ON 07/30/09
Let's get it right. No-one created anything here. They changed the composition of something (briefly). Nothing which hadn't existed before was brought into being; something was taken out of an existing material which altered the sensitivity of the material to ultraviolet light. Wow: all of China did that last week with bits of flimsy photo film during their solar eclipse.
By Audax at 5:44 PM ON 07/30/09
jay trini, it is considered a separate state of matter the same way plasma is different from the gas state. plasma is ionized gas.
these guys created ionized solid metal.
By RecycledBottle at 1:38 PM ON 07/31/09
Isn't this the exact OPPOSITE of what we want - some that lets visible light through and *blocks* UV rays and other harmful light components?
By Neotyguy at 12:30 AM ON 08/03/09
@RecycledBottle
Yes it is, but the point here is that there is more to be learned about different states of matter...
Let's say we know what causes the sun to shine brightly. In 2,000 years, we are able to make a ship and suits that can land on a star. We land on a star away from the sun and realize that our star may be powered by nuclear fusion, but the other one is actually a large silver rock that reflects light from around it into a yellowish color...
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By c3po at 12:58 AM ON 08/22/09
I thought Scotty deleted that!! Did anyone show this to Captain Curt?
on your cellphone!
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