Transparent Aluminum Is "New State of Matter" 406
Professor_Quail writes with this interesting excerpt: "Oxford scientists have created a transparent form of aluminum by bombarding the metal with the world's most powerful soft X-ray laser. 'Transparent aluminum' previously only existed in science fiction, featuring in the movie Star Trek IV, but the real material is an exotic new state of matter with implications for planetary science and nuclear fusion."
No, they didn't make transparent aluminum. (Score:5, Interesting)
short pulse from the FLASH laser 'knocked out' a core electron from every aluminum atom in a sample without disrupting the metal's crystalline structure. This turned the aluminum nearly invisible to extreme ultraviolet radiation.
..."Whilst the invisible effect lasted for only an extremely brief period - an estimated 40 femtoseconds..."
OK. so they took a really powerful soft X-ray pulse source and hammered an electron out of most of the atoms in a sample of aluminum. In 40 femtoseconds (!) the electrons were replaced, but for a brief period, the material would pass "extreme ultraviolet radiation". This isn't a "new material"; it's an old material in a very transient state. They were able to do this without blasting the aluminum apart, which is the new result. On the other hand, metals can be forced into electron-deprived states without too much trouble. Ordinary vacuum tubes do this.
The terminology here is puzzling. "Extreme ultraviolet radiation" and "soft X-rays" are in the same part of the spectrum. Does this mean that after being zapped with the giant X-ray pulse, some of the soft X-rays made it through? Or did they have two different illumination sources?
Also see "Extreme Ultraviolet Radiation Transport in Laser-Irradiated High-Z Metal Foils" [aps.org], from 1981, where someone seems to have come close to the same phenomenon.
Re:Temporary (Score:2, Interesting)
Star Trek's transparent aluminum [slashdot.org] has already been realized [slashdot.org] by heating aluminum but Oxford scientists claim to have found a new state of matter [ox.ac.uk] while making transparent aluminum. The laser in use is the FLASH laser, based in Hamburg, Germany and each brief pulse of X-Ray energy it releases is 'more powerful than the output of a power plant that provides electricity to a whole city.' Although the new state only lasts about 40 femtoseconds, Oxford Professor Justin Wark has high hopes for this research, "Transparent aluminium is just the start. The physical properties of the matter we are creating are relevant to the conditions inside large planets, and we also hope that by studying it we can gain a greater understanding of what is going on during the creation of 'miniature stars' created by high-power laser implosions, which may one day allow the power of nuclear fusion to be harnessed here on Earth."
I think they're excited about the strange fusion capabilities this new state may allow them to harness. Nothing conclusive yet though.
Re:Al2O3 is transparent (Score:3, Interesting)
I remember watching years ago (early 90's?) on PBS some show (NOVA or similar) where researchers were growing rubies in a bowl of "ruby soup" with a shard of a ruby as a starter, uh, crystal I guess. Apparently you would pop this recipe in the microwave for a half hour or so on low power and end up with a a chunk of material you could break up and grind down into a couple of 1 carat "rubies". The voiceover said they couldn't give away the recipe since it would tank the ruby market. I've googled for this magic recipe, but nothing's come up. If anyone can point me in the right direction, I'd greatly appreciate it.
Simpsons logic: (Score:2, Interesting)
I always thought you could make any form of matter invisible by rubbing something sufficiently greasy on it.
Re:This is a great breakthrough... (Score:5, Interesting)
A "keyboard"... how quaint.
So why was he so good with it? Punch cards are quaint from my perspective but I wouldn't know where to start with them. Is he also proficient with using a morse code transmitter?
Maybe using an "old style" keyboard had become something of a game, something that engineering students would compete on to prove they were hard core.
Or maybe, just maybe, it is only a piece of entertainment. If you are going to fail to suspend disbelief at the moment Scotty is able to use a keyboard proficiently how did you get through the previous scenes like the time travel thing, the whales communicating with aliens, and so on.
I will go shoot myself now, for being sad enough to post the above!
Re:This is a great breakthrough... Use on politici (Score:2, Interesting)
ans...
Then, change the summary line "New State of FECAL Matter", after burning their asses up with that frickin' LASER....
Re:This is a great breakthrough... (Score:4, Interesting)
A "keyboard"... how quaint.
So why was he so good with it? Punch cards are quaint from my perspective but I wouldn't know where to start with them.
Think of it as in-depth engineering. Some of us can handle WIMPy interfaces and languages (AJAX should be a swear word), but still be proficient with earlier generations of technology. I've used vast quantities of punched cards (mostly FORTRAN-66 garnished with IBM JCL), and miles of paper tape (yay PDP-8/e). And if you're really interested, I can send and receive both Morse and semaphore - the real kind of semaphore where you hold flags in your hands. Never learned much beyond basics in smoke signals, however.
Re:Frankly (Score:1, Interesting)
When I was a kid I asked my father who was the director of research for a major steel company why he didn't invent see-through steel. He looked at me funny and said, "we already have it son, let me show you." He then took me to the back door and opened it up and said, "look see through steel!" He was refering to the screen door.