# Is "see through" technology ever going to be a thing. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 24, 2017, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-see-through-technology-ever-going-to-be-a-thing/780622 "2017-02-24T12:41:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2017, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-see-through-technology-ever-going-to-be-a-thing/780622/1 "2017-02-24T12:41:29Z")
Oftentimes, technology seems to follow sci-fi. I’ve often wondered, if engineers watch these shows, then think to themselves: “Wow! That looks cool! We should totally try that!” By “See through” technology, I’m talking about a computer monitor that looks like a pane of glass. Or a smart phone that’s completely see through. Items you may have seen on various sci fi shows. I ask, because this YT video really blew my damn mind: [Toyota: Window to the world.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dl9eqdZpvJU) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2017, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-see-through-technology-ever-going-to-be-a-thing/780622/2 "2017-02-24T13:24:37Z")
Regardless whether we can (would require transparent batteries, etc, or very small ones built into the frame), do we really want to? Transparent VDUs look cool in movies and they offer the filmmaker the convenience of showing the audience what’s being displayed on the screen, at the same time as the actor’s face reacting and emoting. In terms of practical utility though, the devices would not be very usable. When you read printed text on a sheet of paper, why would you need to see through it and look at items on the floor or wall beyond? In a very limited sense, transparent displays could work in AR contexts where the display labels or annotates real-world objects behind. Apart from that, transparent screens would be a step down in terms of readability. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2017, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-see-through-technology-ever-going-to-be-a-thing/780622/3 "2017-02-24T13:49:02Z")
Ninjaed, but yes, the technology is entirely possible right now (it is just a naked LCD without a backlight, I used to have a small digital clock from Radio Shack like that) and is nothing that anybody would ever want to use. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2017, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-see-through-technology-ever-going-to-be-a-thing/780622/4 "2017-02-24T14:32:29Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > and is nothing that anybody would ever want to use. That never got in the way of development of, say, texting. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2017, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-see-through-technology-ever-going-to-be-a-thing/780622/5 "2017-02-24T14:50:29Z")
A bit of a extension of what you are asking, but there is work on aircraft that can make the plane quasi-invisable and ‘see through’ > **[‘Invisible’ airplanes: Chinese, US race for cloaking tech](https://www.foxnews.com/tech/invisible-airplanes-chinese-us-race-for-cloaking-tech)** > > China is working on technology that bends light around an object, obscuring it from view as though hidden by an invisibility cloak. Experts say the tech is legit – and not unlike American and European projects from the past few years. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2017, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-see-through-technology-ever-going-to-be-a-thing/780622/6 "2017-02-24T14:54:15Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Ninjaed, but yes, the technology is entirely possible right now (it is just a naked LCD without a backlight, I used to have a small digital clock from Radio Shack like that) and is nothing that anybody would ever want to use. Better still, transparent OLED - as the actual pixels emit light. - It’s possible right now and there are a bunch of ‘cool’ applications for it, but not many that are useful on personal displays: [http://www.planar.com/innovations/transparent-oled/](http://www.planar.com/innovations/transparent-oled/) ---
**Author:** ![Mavic\_Chen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e56c9b/32.png) [@Mavic\_Chen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mavic_Chen)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2017, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-see-through-technology-ever-going-to-be-a-thing/780622/7 "2017-02-24T15:27:12Z")
My phone has an option called “on the go mode” where it turns on the rear camera and sets the live feed as the phone’s wallpaper. It’s supposed to be so you don’t crash into things while texting but it kinda makes the phone go transparent. Very cool effect anyway. ---
**Author:** ![BobArrgh](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobarrgh/32/2881_2.png) [@BobArrgh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobArrgh)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2017, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-see-through-technology-ever-going-to-be-a-thing/780622/8 "2017-02-24T17:07:12Z")
I know this isn’t quite what the OP had in mind, but here is what I think is the best use of “see-through” technology: [Samsung made its trucks “transparent” in Argentina](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZetSRWchM4w) to improve road safety. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2017, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-see-through-technology-ever-going-to-be-a-thing/780622/9 "2017-02-24T17:42:03Z")
[You have to see LG’s transparent TV from the future](http://mashable.com/2017/01/04/lg-display-transparent-tv/#b6WW4DKCosqt) I could see a few applications where it might be interesting. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2017, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-see-through-technology-ever-going-to-be-a-thing/780622/10 "2017-02-24T18:55:23Z")
Tech journalist Robert Scoble insists that Apple plans to make the a transparent iPhone in the near future - basically a piece of glass with an opaque section at the bottom where all the circuitry and battery would reside. It seems like the sort of moronic thing that Apple would do.