# Photovoltaic Glass...Real Technology? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 28, 2012, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photovoltaic-glass-real-technology/645332 "2012-12-28T01:29:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2012, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photovoltaic-glass-real-technology/645332/1 "2012-12-28T01:29:23Z")
My old man sent me a link to this amazingly cool short video. Video here: [YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=6Cf7IL_eZ38&vq=medium) I am wondering if this technology is anywhere even close to becoming reality. If it is, it’s utterly amazing. If not, why not? What are the hurdles? What are the disadvantages over current LED-LCD type touchscreens? How in the world does this technology integrate between devices as shown in the video? Either way…amazing concept. Jaw-droppingly cool, if at all possible. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2012, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photovoltaic-glass-real-technology/645332/2 "2012-12-28T01:57:36Z")
It’d be easier to say if they gave any indication of what the technology _is_. The closest they come to that is the word “photovoltaic”, but they don’t seem to show any actual photovoltaic (generating electricity from light) technology in the video. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2012, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photovoltaic-glass-real-technology/645332/3 "2012-12-28T02:03:44Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > It’d be easier to say if they gave any indication of what the technology _is_. The closest they come to that is the word “photovoltaic”, but they don’t seem to show any actual photovoltaic (generating electricity from light) technology in the video. I don’t know either, but it seems to me that we cannot be too far from this, given that our amazing mobile devices we already have use touchscreens made of glass, powered by unbelievably powerful processors that were unthinkable a couple years ago… ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2012, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photovoltaic-glass-real-technology/645332/4 "2012-12-28T04:05:04Z")
I don’t see anything in there that isn’t being developed. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2012, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photovoltaic-glass-real-technology/645332/5 "2012-12-28T04:26:13Z")
The idea that transparent displays are ever going to be anything more than a novelty is absurd. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2012, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photovoltaic-glass-real-technology/645332/6 "2012-12-28T04:37:13Z")
I’m not sure why. If you don’t like the view behind, then presumably a switch would make it opaque. They would have an open quality to them that non-transparent displays have. ---
**Author:** ![tellyworth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@tellyworth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellyworth)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2012, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photovoltaic-glass-real-technology/645332/7 "2012-12-28T04:42:03Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > I don’t know either, but it seems to me that we cannot be too far from this, given that our amazing mobile devices we already have use touchscreens made of glass Touchscreens aren’t made of glass. They’re covered with it. ---
**Author:** ![Glazer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a88e57/32.png) [@Glazer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glazer)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2012, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photovoltaic-glass-real-technology/645332/8 "2012-12-28T05:14:30Z")
Looks mostly like large panel OLED’s. The problem with transparent displays is that it’s hard to see the image displayed except in low light. I have installed mirrored displays in showers before. ---
**Author:** ![Michael63129](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@Michael63129](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael63129)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2012, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photovoltaic-glass-real-technology/645332/9 "2012-12-28T05:31:49Z")
From what I can see, the video is an ad by Corning promoting their glass, with a view of what the future might look like and the applications for their product, with [photovoltaic glass](http://pv.energytrend.com/knowledge_solar_20101111) being for one specific application; that is, solar cells. The OP seems to think that **everything** shown in the video is based on their PV glass when in reality they are showing all of the uses for their glass (of many different types, which includes glass for displays, but it isn’t called PV glass). As can be seen by their descriptions; “LCD Television Glass”, etc (the “Photovoltaic Glass” comes up first, which may be confusing the OP, and refers to the windows). So the technology is real, just not for the applications the OP thought it was used for (if you can really call it a unique technology, it’s just a fancy name for glass, not even the actual PV material, which is enclosed by the glass, just as “LCD television glass” describes the glass used to make LCD displays, after they put the LCD stuff on it, which could be the exact same material under a different name). ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2012, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photovoltaic-glass-real-technology/645332/10 "2012-12-28T05:43:07Z")
I had a feeling it would be the Corning video. As noted above, there isn’t anything in the video that isn’t being worked on now. Some things are a lot closer than others. There has been at least one mobile phone with a transparent display - the Sony Ericsson Xperia Pureness. Never heard of it? There is a clue here. As noted above, transparent displays are essentially useless. Everything about them is a step in back in utility. A critical point that is usually missed is that in order to focus on the display, your eyes can’t focus on what is seen any distance behind the display. Glass sheets that can be controlled to cut out light has been available for some time. So windows that can be turned black are easy, just very expensive. A pub near me installed toilet cubicle doors made of the stuff. $15,000 a door apparently. The only really holy grail display in the video is the roll-up display. And these are on the way. Even then you would never make it transparent. That would force you to only be able to use it over a white surface. Most of the other stuff that looks cool in the video isn’t display at all, it is the software integration. Given our current rate of progress with software, don’t hold you breath for any of the neat integration of systems depicted any-time soon. Corning of course make the Gorilla Glass used on the iPhone and others. They make some very high tech glass products, including flexible glass sheet. They probably have a right to think that they will be involved in display technology for a while yet, but this video, whilst very cool, isn’t realistic. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2012, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photovoltaic-glass-real-technology/645332/11 "2012-12-28T05:45:53Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > The idea that transparent displays are ever going to be anything more than a novelty is absurd. If I’m understand you and the concept of “transparent displays” correctly, why would you say this? I would love it in my car. ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2012, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photovoltaic-glass-real-technology/645332/12 "2012-12-28T05:58:11Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > If I’m understand you and the concept of “transparent displays” correctly, why would you say this? I would love it in my car. Where? And don’t think you can create a HUD with one. You can’t. A HUD requires optics to allow your eyes to focus on the display at infinity, not at the distance the display is in front of you. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2012, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photovoltaic-glass-real-technology/645332/13 "2012-12-28T06:09:35Z")
I can see where this might be useful for specific limited purposes. For example, it could be used for overlaying information on a real object. The only example that comes to mind would be the ability to overlay x-ray or MRI information over a patient. That’s probably a bad example, but I’m sure there are other ways it could be used. The idea would be to display real time attributes of an object where those attributes aren’t normally visible to the human eye. Heads up displays are another possible use. We already do this using projection, but this may be less expensive, more reliable, or have other advantages. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2012, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photovoltaic-glass-real-technology/645332/14 "2012-12-28T06:53:09Z")
> [@Francis\_Vaughan](#): > > Where? And don’t think you can create a HUD with one. You can’t. A HUD requires optics to allow your eyes to focus on the display at infinity, not at the distance the display is in front of you. That’s kind of what I was thinking of, but not a HUD where I’d have to focus on infinity. Why wouldn’t something like a transparent display midway between the driver and the passenger on the windshield with, say, GPS and map info work? I refocus anyway when I look down to my GPS display. Why not have it up and somewhere where I don’t have to look down to see it? I could focus past it to see the road, and focus on it to see the map info. Why wouldn’t that work? Or a rear-view mirror display in the upper part of the windshield or something like that? My rear view mirror is constantly getting in my line of sight. Why not have a transparent display that allows me to choose to look at it or past it as need be? ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2012, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photovoltaic-glass-real-technology/645332/15 "2012-12-28T08:38:25Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I could focus past it to see the road, and focus on it to see the map info. Why wouldn’t that work? They tried that basic idea when they first made HUDs for cars. They put the speedometer down at the bottom of the HUD and found that it didn’t work very well. If there is something in your field of view that is close your eyes tend to focus on it and not on the road ahead of you. They fixed it by tweaking the HUD to show its information at an apparent distance so that the drivers kept their eyes focused on distance. If you want a GPS map displayed where you can see it why not put it on the HUD too? Why have something extra in the way? ---
**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:** [December 28, 2012, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photovoltaic-glass-real-technology/645332/16 "2012-12-28T08:54:23Z")
Refocusing your eyes when you move your view completely to a different direction (for example, when you glance down at something else) is quite natural. Refocusing at will on one or the other of two different things at different apparent depths in the same line of sight can be difficult or tiring on the eyes - and can lead to situations where you can’t ‘snap’ your focus away from the lesser to the more important item - this is why HUDs are set to resolve at apparent infinity. ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2012, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photovoltaic-glass-real-technology/645332/17 "2012-12-28T11:51:07Z")
20 years ago, TVs that you could control from your couch with something called a remote came out. It was the future. 20 years from now, TVs that you control by walking up to and touching will come out. It will be the future. ---
**Author:** ![Kiyoshi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e19adc/32.png) [@Kiyoshi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiyoshi)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2012, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photovoltaic-glass-real-technology/645332/18 "2012-12-28T12:41:48Z")
Watching that video, all I could think was: “imagine all the fingerprints!” You’d spend your whole life cleaning and polishing. ---
**Author:** ![ski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@ski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ski)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2012, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photovoltaic-glass-real-technology/645332/19 "2012-12-28T17:39:02Z")
What struck me as odd was here we have this couple with two kids living in an immaculate, almost sanitary house, but nobody says anything when one of the kids comes in and plops her tennis shoes down on the kitchen counter! What is even weirder to me is that, obviously, it was in the script for her to do that, so somebody obviously conciously thought, “okay now we’ll have her put her shoes on top of the counter…” ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2012, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photovoltaic-glass-real-technology/645332/20 "2012-12-28T17:50:04Z")
To demonstrate the robustness of the glass. “You can plop cleats on us and we won’t mar!” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photovoltaic-glass-real-technology/645332.md?page=2)