Transparent Aluminium!

[Spinward Scout]

Scotty would be proud...

Transparent Aluminium

 

[Jame]

Oooo, shiny!

 

[Chuck Anumia]

Ah...But will this hold whales for Scotty?

 

[robject]

Interesting... sounds like a piece of an armor tech tree there.

</font><blockquote>code:</font><hr /><pre style="font-size:x-small; font-family: monospace;">TL 7 : laminate carbon
TL 8 : ceramic metal polymer 30x as strong, 3x as expensive</pre>[/QUOTE]hmmmm

 

[Anthony]

Sigh. It's not transparent aluminum any more than window glass is transparent silicon. It's a transparent aluminum compound.

 

[Uncle Bob]

Aluminun OxyNitride. Close cousin to saphire (as it says in the article), Al2O3. Sapphire is sometimes used for (small) windows in hostile environments. Artificially grown sapphire panels have long been suggested for AFV windows.

I have two questions:
Is this a crystal or a amorphous solid (a glass)?
How does this material compare with opaque ceramic armors, like silicon carbide or aluminum oxide?

For starters, it is 10x as expensive as Lvl IV armor but somewhat more protective.

 

[Fritz_Brown]

It supposedly stops a .50cal round totally for less weight and thickness than "bulletproof" glass.

And, this really should go in "Imperal Research Station"....

 

[Uncle Bob]

Or ships locker, where I usually hang out.

BTW, transparent alumina is one way of describing sapphire. Wikpedia article
And Raythen was touting ALON armor back in 2002

 

[Spinward Scout]

Anybody know how to move a thread? I still haven't figured it out...

 

[mike wightman]

Only mods can do that AFAIK.

You can delete the original post to remove the thread and then start it afresh elsewhere, but all the replies would be lost.

 

[far-trader]

It's a locked (Moderator only) feature so we'll just have to wait until Hunter has time or drafts some into service.