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Did you know it is real?

Oozlefinch

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One thing I love is when movies (especially sci-fi movies) mention something that "sounds to good to be true". Unobtanium, dilithium crystals, the list is endless. Things that sound like a joke, but really do exist.

One of my favorites is from Star Trek IV, where Engineer Scott and Doctor McCoy trade the formula for "Transparent Aluminum" in order to get Plexiglas.

However, are people even aware that there is such a thing?

The oldest and most well known is actually the sapphire. This is a natural oxide, with the chemical symbol Al2O3, and based upon other trace minerals in the crystal (iron, cobalt, sulfur, etc) it takes on various shades of color. So this is literally "Transparent Aluminum".

But it can go even further. Aluminium oxynitride is a manmade ceramic, and is basically "manmade sapphire". And this has real use, it is used in most of our drones and recon aircraft for it's invisibility to IR sensors.

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It is currently being researched to make more powerful bulletproof glass, as it's light weight and strength are superior to those currently on the market.
 

Actually, the idea is to bring to light that many things that some people think are just "sci-fi" are actually real.

Like the Hoverboard.



Yea, earlier this year Tony Hawk and Christopher Lloyd released a prank video where they said it was real. But this one really is real, and is attempting to raise funding to sell their devide.
 
Dilithium actually exists too, though I think it is mainly present in lithium's gaseous form, and has nothing to do with regulating matter-antimatter reactions. :)
 
Think of the really old Sci-Fi, say back in the 1880's or earlier. Pretty much a lot of the gadgetry they envisioned has been invented, or at least determined not to be possible.

I think it was one of the US rocketeers that said something on the order of reading Jules Verne, and wanting to actually do it / see it.

Without someone dreaming, thinking / imagining beyond what the engineers currently create, how is it that mankind would continue it's forward progress?
 
Here is another one that sounds crazy, but is real...

Everybody likes French fries and ketchup, but have you ever thought of growing both at once?

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Well, with the TomTatoe, you can do exactly that. Yes, this is a real plant that grows both Tomatoes and Potatoes at the same time. Every year this plant can produce up to 500 cherry tomatoes, and 4 pounds of white potatoes.

And no, it is not cloned, or genetically modified, nor is it a hybrid. This trick of science is done by grafting, the same process that for over 200 years has produced such fruits as seedless grapes and navel oranges.
 
Here is another one that sounds crazy, but is real...

Everybody likes French fries and ketchup, but have you ever thought of growing both at once?


Well, with the TomTatoe, you can do exactly that. Yes, this is a real plant that grows both Tomatoes and Potatoes at the same time. Every year this plant can produce up to 500 cherry tomatoes, and 4 pounds of white potatoes.

And no, it is not cloned, or genetically modified, nor is it a hybrid. This trick of science is done by grafting, the same process that for over 200 years has produced such fruits as seedless grapes and navel oranges.

I'd eat it even if it was a GMO, since they are completely safe. Interesting idea though.
 
I remember something about yag laser rods,
YAG is Yttrium Aluminium Garnet, and while it is not as hard as diamond,
it is supposed to be more mechanically stable, I.E. it is VERY difficult to crack.
I remember trashing a diamond drill bit, trying to put a hole in a garnet.
The point is that there are aluminum combinations that allow light to pass,
and are not just tough, but some of the toughest materials we can make.
P.S. they use a YAG laser for the range finder on the M1 Tank barrel,
because it can take the shock of the Gun going off.
 
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