Transparent Concrete

rakerman writes: "The Economist reports in How to see through walls that development is underway on translucent concrete, with hopes of eventually developing transparent concrete. Can transparent aluminium be far behind?"

But what about the birds?

[Eharley]

Won't translucent structures lead to an increase rate of smack death amongst bird populations?

How to see through walls

[Hal-9001]

They're called windows, and they're usually made of a neat transparent material called glass... ;-)

Seriously, though, any slurry-based material like concrete is most likely to be opaque because microscopic structures tend to scatter light. You only need to pour a glass of milk to see this in action.

A good weapon against terrorism...

[heretic108]

would be to legislate that all new residential and commercial dwellings be built from transparent concrete.
Anyone refusing to demolish their existing house would be added to a database of 'potential conspirators'.
This would be quite consistent with recent 'anti-terrorist' surveillance legislation.
Also, the boom in building would boost the flagging economy.
Imagine whole neighbourhoods of people living in complete exposure, proving they're real honest patriotic Americans.

I'm going to regret this...

[iangoldby]

I wouldn't want to live in a transparent house. Think of the lack of privacy. People'd be able to see when I was in the bedroom, when I was in the bathroom... They'd be able to see all my movements.

Re:Hmm...

[spectral]

with transparent concrete shoes, of course.. The divers will keep trying to lift the body out of the water and not be able to figure out what's holding it down, since they can't see the concrete! :)

Re:But what about the birds?

[IainHere]

I used to walk over a bridge with large glass windows, where there was a silhouette of a bird of prey. On the back was a caption that read "this cut-out is here to scare off small birds, which used to fly into the bridge and *subsequently* kill themselves". I often wondered why, having survived hitting the bridge, they would want to commit suicide. So perhaps they'll do the same on transparent concrete?

Glass Houses

[Perdo]

If you lived in a transparent concrete house would you still have to refrain from stone throwing?

Remember the "clear craze" several years ago?

[Ukab the Great]

First we had clear Pespi.
Then we had clear deodorant.
Saturday Night introduced us to clear gravvy.

Like clear concrete was that far behind?

I know how this one started...

[Andy_R]

Architect "...are the stairs, and this is where the wi..."
Programmer "NO! NO! I will not have windows installed!"

Re:Transparent aluminum

[cowbutt]

I doubt even if it could be produced, people would find it of much use.

I dunno. I find it invaluable for transporting live whales in my time-travelling starship, complete with enough water to for them to move around in.

I could use steel or something, but, darn, I like to press my nose up to their enclosure during the journey.

--

Re:Won't someone think about the mob?

[3Suns]

But then again, "Glass Slippers" sounds so much better than "Concrete Overshoes".

But if someone DOES get encased in it...

[AndyChrist]

On the upside, if anyone tries it, my curiosity as to what such a corpse looks like after a few years will no doubt be satisfied.

Re:But what about the birds?

[HarryTuttle]

I often wondered why, having survived hitting the bridge, they would want to commit suicide.

Embarrassment

Edible Concrete

[Anonymous Coward]

Edible concrete has been with us for years:

coarse aggregate - dried fruit
fine aggregate - flour
binding agent - eggs.

It proved so popular, it's got its own name - cake!

Let's face it, Marie Antoinette would've looked a bit of a dork saying "let them eat edible concrete."

Re:Transparent aluminum

[Prowl]

Are you calling Star Trek IV a thin film?

I thought it was quite profound. Save the whales and all that...

Re:How to see through walls

[Pathetic Coward]

Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.

Please use the term "transparent exterior access devices".

Re:But if someone DOES get encased in it...

[Drakin]

Why do I get this image in my head now... upon the first body found in trnsparent concreat...

Guy - Hey, what's that in there... a body?
Modbster type - No see... it's a work of art, to give the place a more... casual appearanc .

Re:Light Pollution

[foobar104]

Buildings glowing from within? This is terrible for astronomers... the added light pollution would further ruin the viewing conditions for many great observatories.

Maybe that wouldn't be so bad. I say, the sooner we got astronomers off the surface and up to the far side of the moon, where they belong, the better.

Transparent Office Building - Peeping Execs.

[akiaki007]

That's going to be the next headline. They'll design something like the Jacob Javits Center, and then we'll see transparent floors, and next thing you know, all the execs get sued for sexual harrasment because their secretaries all had offices on the floor above them, not next to them. And for some reason they had to wear skirts...go figure.

You will never see transparent aluminum...

[Mad Man]

The reason you will never see transparent aluminum is not because of a lack of crystalline structure...

The real reason you will never see transparent aluminum is because it is, well, transparent.

Re:Is it really concrete?

[PD]

But this is not a recipe for concrete only - also for other materials.

Yes, it is also a recipe for meatballs.

Re:What's taking them so long?

[Dr Fro]

It's the year 2000 and I was promised flying cars!!!

Re:Glass Houses

[Decimal Dave]

If "People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones" is good advice, then we might also assume that "People in stone/concrete houses shouldn't throw glass" is also a solid recommendation.

I've conducted a small experiment to test this assertion and it turns out that it is, in fact, true. As a side-effect my parents have now strictly forbidden the throwing of both glass and stone in our house, even though the building is not transparent nor made of glass.