Scientists made see-through wood that's stronger than glass

a reply to: angryhulk


I wholeheartedly agree with this statement. I'm no Tree Hugger, but I do care about the environment. We use A LOT of glass. It may cut back on the fuel costs we use to make glass from salivates and stuff, but still, cutting down more trees to make glass doesn't seem logical.

originally posted by: Bedlam

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus

The coolest invention until transparent aluminum.

We've got that. It's going to (probably...) be used for large caliber bulletproof windows in combat vehicles.

And you can use optically imperfect bits for armor. Something we've been working on off and on...might as well get some use out of the culls.

Bedlam,
Bullet proof windows in armored fighting vehicles is exactly where transperant aluminum oxynitrides originate.

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]

en.wikipedia.org...

A german firm put the newest ceramic to test in armored windows about ten years ago. Where this ceramic blend has really found a new home is in unbreakable bar glasses and mugs.

after extracting the various substances from the wood that actually make it wood, and then adding epoxies....how is this still wood?

originally posted by: punkinworks10
Bedlam,
Bullet proof windows in armored fighting vehicles is exactly where transperant aluminum oxynitrides originate.

Sure. They were testing it at Redstone before we moved out of Huntsville.

I'm not sure why I was reminded of this, but has anyone ever read the classic science fiction short story "Light of Other Days" by Bob Shaw?

It's about something called "Slow Glass".