Star Trek Gets Real

If you're a Trekker -- or even just a Trekkie -- you'll remember the phrase "transparent aluminum" from Star Trek IV, the movie. Scottie, in an effort to distract a group of engineers, offers them the atomic structure of the substance while the rest of the crew cleverly appropriate the material they need to build an aquarium -- for a humpback whale.

At the time, the idea of transparent aluminum sounded quaintly futuristic. Well, the future has arrived. According to Science Daily, a team of British researchers has managed to create transparent aluminum in the lab -- and "the real material is an exotic new state of matter with implications for planetary science and nuclear fusion."

They used a laser to "‘knock out’ a core electron from every aluminum atom in a sample without disrupting the metal’s crystalline structure."

So far, the new metal isn't especially useful. It remained stable for far less than a second. The implications, though, are far reaching. Researchers believe that the type of reaction they managed may be similar to the activity that occurs at the center of large planets. It could be clue in the quest for fusion-based energy. And, if nothing else, it's a step forward in our understanding of states of matter and the nature of physical reality.

Says one scientist: "it’s almost as surprising as finding that you can turn lead into gold with light!"

(Photo courtesy www.flickr.com and creativecommons.org)