Didn't we see transparent aluminum in Star Trek IV? :P

/me points and laughs at jexkerome. Not-nerd! You don't have the script memorized. The quote I used for the thread title is what Scotty says when Bones asks him if giving away the formula for transparent aluminum wouldn't be altering the future.

Speaking of Scotty: http://www.nameastarspacelaunch.com/doohan_message.asp
http://www.memorialspaceflights.com/explorers.asp

I am not a nerd, I am a geek. Never confuse the two terms, Beolach.

As for the Scotty memorial thing, I suspect they must have an overload of messages by now. God knows them damn Trekkies are everywhere...

That's really cool. I can't wait until that technology trickles down to civilian use.

Translucent concrete has already been developed using oriented glass strands.

Erm... That's a ceramic, not a metal. It contains aluminum, yes, but it's not quite what you think. Star Trek-style transparent aluminum would be awesome, though.

Supposedly, it IS possible, if we could arrange the aluminum molecules the same way crystal molecules arrange themselves. Maybe our humble VO vismetal is made that way...