A very dim invention

05 Jan 2006 | News | Update from University of Warwick
These updates are republished press releases and communications from members of the Science|Business Network

If we were handing out awards, the idea of dimmable windows for aircraft would get one for the most useless innovations of 2005. Who in their right mind would replace a simple mechanical device, a blind, with complicated electronics that is bound to go wrong just when you need it most?

Boeing has, though, bought the idea of electrochromic glass for its next generation airliner, the 787 Dreamliner. Maybe the technology will save a few pounds in the weight of an airliner. Perhaps more important, an idea that starts off in expensive aircraft could well end up in more mundane, nearly said down to earth, applications.

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