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It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with List of Star Trek materials. (Discuss) |
The term transparent aluminum was made popular in the Star Trek science fiction franchise. It was mentioned in the 1986 feature film Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, in which it was described as a material that could be used to construct a waterproof enclosure for transporting whales in the cargo hold of a spaceship.
The material is entirely fictional as a transparent form of aluminium is chemically impossible. Although it is possible to arrange individual aluminium atoms into a thin, transparent lattice, creating large scale transparent crystals of aluminium is not possible because covalent bonding gives way to metallic bonding as the crystal grows. The metallic bond eliminates the possibility for transition metal elements (or alloys) to be classified as transparent materials. Transparent compounds that include aluminium are possible, for example there is an aluminium oxide called Aluminium oxynitride, which is transparent and stronger than glass.
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Star Trek
In the popular film Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, panels of acrylic glass were acquired for construction of water tanks with a thickness suitable for containing two humpback whales and tonnes of water. However, the Enterprise crew, without money appropriate to the period, found it necessary to barter with Plexicorp (a fictional manufacturer) for the materials required for the task. In exchange for the acrylic glass, Chief Engineer Scott shares the chemical formula for "transparent aluminum".
Star Trek technical manuals indicate "transparent aluminum" is used in various fittings in starships, including exterior ship portals and windows.
Battlestar Galactica
An earlier reference to this fictional material was made on an episode of the original 1979 Battlestar Galactica episode "The Hand of God". In the episode, Apollo points out to Sheba that the ancient Battlestar's astro-navigational dome was made from "transparent aluminum".
See also
References
External links
- Transparent aluminum at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)
- Jeffrey de Fourestier, "The Mineralogy of Star Trek"
- Leucoemeraldine, 'Leucoemeraldine' - real world equivalent of 'Transparent Aluminum'
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