Can transparent metal be made?

neilep · « **on:** 19/04/2005 12:28:57 »

Is there such a thing as transparent metal ? Is it a thing which industry and the scientific community strive for ?

I think it would be a pretty cool thing to have.

daveshorts · « **Reply #1 on:** 19/04/2005 12:47:30 »

I don't think any of the elemental metals are transparent or that any of their alloys are.

They do use something called Indium tin Oxide as contacts for LCD screens etc, as it is transparent and quite conductive ( a trillion tme worse than copper, but not bad all the same).

I am sure that people are looking for better transparent conductors as although it doesn't matter much for screens where there isn't much current flowing, when you start building Solar cells which produce lots of current the losses must build up.

gsmollin · « **Reply #2 on:** 19/04/2005 12:47:40 »

Glass comes close. It's a transparent metal oxide, mostly silicon dioxide, but has boron and other metallic oxides in it.

In their pure metallic phase, I doubt that a transparent metal can be made. Metals have conduction band electrons available, and will react with almost any wavelength of electromagnetic energy, from DC to gamma.

neilep · « **Reply #3 on:** 19/04/2005 13:35:38 »

Thank you for your answers. I can imagine if ever transparent metal was realised it would have many potential uses.....errhmm !!!..can't think of any right now, but it could make flying a whole new experience.

Men are the same as women.... just inside out !!

DrPhil · « **Reply #4 on:** 19/04/2005 15:17:18 »

It's a well known fact that Scotty gave the formula for transparent aluminum to Plexicorp way back in the 20th century. However, there's a huge glass manufacturer/government conspiracy in effect to prevent its development and use.

neilep · « **Reply #5 on:** 19/04/2005 15:19:43 »

Yes, yes..you're right there Phil....he did didn't he ?...good old Scotty......

Men are the same as women.... just inside out !!

chris · « **Reply #6 on:** 19/04/2005 15:53:08 »

What worries me more about that story is that even in 400 years time (when Star Trek is taking place) the Americans still haven't learned how to spell ALUMINIUM !!

"I never forget a face, but in your case I'll make an exception"
- Groucho Marx

DrPhil · « **Reply #7 on:** 19/04/2005 17:05:10 »

What worries me is the false belief that "aluminium" was the original spelling. It was "aluminum" before somebody went and added the extra i. Check your CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics 53rd ed., p. B-5

chris · « **Reply #8 on:** 19/04/2005 17:28:12 »

...or COLOUR, FAVOUR, FAVOURITE, METER, CENTIMETER, LITER, NEIGHBOUR, or even HUMOUR...and judging by their president, the latter example's a necessity. Then again, at least his wife doesn't look like the wicked witch of the east. Cherie Blair has to be the most minging creature on the earth.

Richard Littlejohn in his Sun column has made a point of reminding readers, on a daily basis, how she took over 100,000 pounds from a children's cancer charity in 'speaking fees'. Amazing what some people will pay for crap these days - at those rates, what goes down my toilet could have more value than gold. It's certainly more interesting than Mrs. Blair.

"I never forget a face, but in your case I'll make an exception"
- Groucho Marx

neilep · « **Reply #9 on:** 19/04/2005 17:31:39 »

quote:
Originally posted by chris

What worries me more about that story is that even in 400 years time (when Star Trek is taking place) the Americans still haven't learned how to spell ALUMINIUM !!

"I never forget a face, but in your case I'll make an exception"
- Groucho Marx

....and how to pronounce it too !!

Men are the same as women.... just inside out !!

chimera · « **Reply #10 on:** 20/04/2005 02:12:42 »

I thought the original spelling was bauxite. [

]

Anyway, Napoleon had a huge set of cutlery made of it, pots and pans and all, worth millions at the time, since it was so rare.

But, as gsmollin rightly observed, metal has some properties that probably make it impossible to have it transparent and still be a metal proper.

Maybe it would be possible to make a mixture of glasslike substances and metal oxides to produce a hybrid 'glasteel'?

gsmollin · « **Reply #11 on:** 20/04/2005 02:14:14 »

Well, even though the metal was found in "alum" and there was that "ium" ending for all those metals, they didn't name it "alumium" for some reason either. Its good that the Americans had the sense to choose a name that wasn't a jawbreaker.

Quantum cat · « **Reply #12 on:** 20/04/2005 03:37:40 »

We were taught that metals were always opaque and translucent (not sure if that's the right word) because of their free electrons and the way they reacted with incoming light, when we were learning about different bonds in chemistry.

ADD HAHAHA · « **Reply #13 on:** 20/04/2005 03:42:17 »

put a hole in a metal sheet and you'll have what you are looking for [

]

DrPhil · « **Reply #14 on:** 20/04/2005 13:53:47 »

quote:
Originally posted by gsmollin

Well, even though the metal was found in "alum" and there was that "ium" ending for all those metals, they didn't name it "alumium" for some reason either. Its good that the Americans had the sense to choose a name that wasn't a jawbreaker.

It was Sir Humphry Davy, an Englishman, who named the element "aluminum". The "ium" ending was adopted later.

gsmollin · « **Reply #15 on:** 20/04/2005 15:41:27 »

The ancient Greeks and Romans used alum in medicine as an astringent, and as a mordant in dyeing. In 1761 de Morveau proposed the name alumine for the base in alum, and Lavoisier, 1n 1787, thought this to be the oxide of an undiscovered metal. Wohler is generally credited with isolating the metal in 1827, although an impure form was prepared by Oersted 2 years earlier. In 1807 Davy proposed the name alumium for the metal, and later agreed to change it to aluminum. Shortly thereafter, the name aluminium was adopted to conform with the "ium" ending of most elements, and this spelling is now in use in most parts of the world. Aluminium was also the accepted spelling in the United States until 1925, at which time the American Chemical Society officially decided to use the name aluminum thereafter in their publications.

Handbook of Chemistry and Physics 57th ed.

chris · « **Reply #16 on:** 20/04/2005 18:11:04 »

As I thought, our US colleagues did change it [

]

Typical. They'll be spelling sulphur with an F next.

I wish I was an American - then, when I came across something really exciting I could exclaim how much 'epinephrine' the situation was causing my adrenal glands to secrete [

]

"I never forget a face, but in your case I'll make an exception"
- Groucho Marx

DrPhil · « **Reply #17 on:** 20/04/2005 19:27:53 »

The ACS just wanted to honor Sir Davy by using the word he coined... Aluminum. [

]

To paraphrase another Englishman, Bill Shakespeare, "a rose by any other name..."
He obviously never visited the US.

Corbeille · « **Reply #18 on:** 20/04/2005 21:03:55 »

Is "The Sun " a scientific journal?, its a good name for one.
Is Richard Littlejohn an erudite professor?

Is it read by very clever people?

Nah pop no style, a strictly roots!

chris · « **Reply #19 on:** 21/04/2005 08:50:56 »

No No Yes

"I never forget a face, but in your case I'll make an exception"
- Groucho Marx

Can we make a robot that could make a smaller robot that made a smaller robot? Started by acecharlyBoard Technology	Replies: 11 Views: 6758	08/02/2019 07:55:33 by Zer0
Who made the "mouse"? Started by SimulatedBoard Famous Scientists, Doctors and Inventors	Replies: 16 Views: 20377	13/01/2019 12:26:45 by WarnerGet
How are antidotes to poisons made from poisons? Started by that mad manBoard Physiology & Medicine	Replies: 2 Views: 10813	19/04/2008 22:29:39 by that mad man
Could a man be made to "fly like a bird"? Started by gurpalBoard General Science	Replies: 14 Views: 8393	08/09/2018 03:55:12 by Professor Mega-Mind
How do holograms work? How are holograms made? Started by JollyBoard Technology	Replies: 11 Views: 12430	19/12/2015 00:42:04 by Jolly

Can transparent metal be made?

neilep (OP)

neilep (OP)

neilep (OP)

neilep (OP)

Similar topics (5)