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Key sentence: "successfully resists a huge, powerful .50 AP bullet that smashes easily through more than twice that thickness of conventional laminated glass ar

Key sentence: "successfully resists a huge, powerful .50 AP bullet that smashes easily through more than twice that thickness of conventional laminated glass armor" So in reality this is a modest improvement (2x) over existing laminated glass armour for use where both thickness and resistance are critical (ie. probably for specialist military applications only)

nickolai 15y ago
> So in reality this is a modest improvement (2x) over existing laminated glass armour More than 2x actually - the guy behind the glass would be dead, unlike the one behind their improved glass. I'd say this is a significant difference - they deserve some extra credit for keeping the guy behind their armor alive. I do find the title a little misleading though, since this has nothing to do with metallic aluminum as one would expect from reading the title.
- endtime 15y ago
  >More than 2x actually - the guy behind the glass would be dead, unlike the one behind their improved glass. I think what twelvechairs meant is that you have to buy (at least) twice as much of the old stuff to keep the guy alive.
jonhendry 15y ago
How do their weights compare? If the new stuff is the same weight by volume as conventional laminated glass, then you'd have a 50% weight savings. If the new stuff is thinner, and lighter, then it'd be useful for applications where the current glass is too thick and/or heavy. Also, in applications like secure windows for bank tellers and such, something thinner would probably be better aesthetically. When you're dealing with someone behind a thick sheet of glass, it puts a different tone on the interaction.
- absconditus 15y ago
  I doubt that most "bullet-proof" glass could stop a 50 caliber round at all. The thickness required would be ridiculous.
- aidenn0 15y ago
  Alon is ~3.7g/cc which is about twice what ordinary glass weighs. Not sure how it compares to laminated glass. They probably use a denser glass than I'm used to for armored glass, but it's layered with other, presumably less-dense material.
absconditus 15y ago
Without knowing the failure points of both products I am not sure how you can make such a claim. The glass failed in this demonstration and the ALON did not. Obviously the glass needs to be even thicker (making it a ridiculous solution in most cases) and the ALON might work even if it is thinner.
billswift 15y ago
"The material, aluminium oxynitride, known as AION, is four times harder than fused silica glass, 85 per cent as hard as sapphire and stable up to a temperature of 1,200C." Quote from the Daily Mail article linked above.

nickolai 15y ago

> So in reality this is a modest improvement (2x) over existing laminated glass armour More than 2x actually - the guy behind the glass would be dead, unlike the one behind their improved glass. I'd say this is a significant difference - they deserve some extra credit for keeping the guy behind their armor alive. I do find the title a little misleading though, since this has nothing to do with metallic aluminum as one would expect from reading the title.

endtime 15y ago
>More than 2x actually - the guy behind the glass would be dead, unlike the one behind their improved glass. I think what twelvechairs meant is that you have to buy (at least) twice as much of the old stuff to keep the guy alive.

jonhendry 15y ago

How do their weights compare? If the new stuff is the same weight by volume as conventional laminated glass, then you'd have a 50% weight savings. If the new stuff is thinner, and lighter, then it'd be useful for applications where the current glass is too thick and/or heavy. Also, in applications like secure windows for bank tellers and such, something thinner would probably be better aesthetically. When you're dealing with someone behind a thick sheet of glass, it puts a different tone on the interaction.

absconditus 15y ago
I doubt that most "bullet-proof" glass could stop a 50 caliber round at all. The thickness required would be ridiculous.
aidenn0 15y ago
Alon is ~3.7g/cc which is about twice what ordinary glass weighs. Not sure how it compares to laminated glass. They probably use a denser glass than I'm used to for armored glass, but it's layered with other, presumably less-dense material.

absconditus 15y ago

Without knowing the failure points of both products I am not sure how you can make such a claim. The glass failed in this demonstration and the ALON did not. Obviously the glass needs to be even thicker (making it a ridiculous solution in most cases) and the ALON might work even if it is thinner.

billswift 15y ago

"The material, aluminium oxynitride, known as AION, is four times harder than fused silica glass, 85 per cent as hard as sapphire and stable up to a temperature of 1,200C." Quote from the Daily Mail article linked above.