Trekkie of the world, rejoice! Transparent aluminum is moving ever closer to real, viable products. Under heat and pressure, aluminum oxynitride powder is fused into a clear (after polishing) material that proves more bullet resistant than laminate glass (a 1.6″ thick panel performed better than a 3.7″ piece of laminate glass). And impresses your friends. Current applications are high-priced bullet-resistant windows, battlefield optics, etc.
(via ohgizmo)