I'm after a Material that would be glass, or perspex that is transparent then goes opac or black when a current (electricity) is transfered through it?

Basically the topic title says it all.

And where to get it from?

Thanks

What your looking for is a simple LCD panel, or something similar I believe. however Im not sure where youd fine something like that.

Because of the nature of how an LCD works, theyre all custom made to size. you can't just go cutting them like you would anything else (and expect them to still work).

are there company's that make lcd panels locally?

If i could get a cheap 15 inch or something, to try/test it.

What would i need to do to a computer monitor?

Thanks mate

Similar I think, but another term is "Electrochromic Glass"

edit: or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_glass

What do you need this for? Sounds interesting..

Its a car install. but cant give much away yet. ill keep you posted.

Thanks scuzzy

haha sneaky.

Make sure you make a thread about it. I'm interested!

Would work great for a Numberplate Cover, hehe

i looked into this about 3 - 4 years ago.
couldnt find anyone in aust who had it, and it was mega $$$$ to get it over here in a size i wanted
so i didnt go for it.
wicked stufff though.
there was a SPL car i think in the states that used it, was pretty wicked

At present, the glass is around $900sqm + terminals + driver.

It's not practical to use in small pieces yet, due to the set up costs.

I'm looking at using a large panel as a projection screen in my next house. Day time clear, night time a 3m wide screen to watch from the pool.

Phil

Better get a pool first

I've seen the glass you are talking about, there is a place in the ACT where you stand in a cubicle with a small opaque window on the wall and put $2 coins in a slot and it makes the glass go clear. Fairly expensive though, it only stays clear for a few minutes.

I've seen pics of it used for toilet cubicle doors - go in and lock the door and it goes white, come out and it goes clear again.

Scuzzy hit the nail. It's called Electrochromatic or Smart glass and is readily avail in Oz.
Requires a 12v current and a switch, pretty simple. It's actually two peices of glass sandwiching the electrochromatic film.
Be aware it's not crystal clear when off if your looking for excellent clarity.

A cheaper option is one way mirrored polycarbonate.

If you use semi-silvered mirror (one way glass) on a box, when it is darker inside the box, it will appear as a mirror. If you illuminate the inside of the box to be brighter than outside, the light will shine through and it will appear (mostly) transparent.

Could be a cheaper way than smart glass I guess.

maybach sunroofs have em, so if you happen to see a maybach and you have a sawzall in your hand.....

Is this place the same place that has a rather sticky floor?

lol wot?

http://www.webastoindia.com/Mag_%20light.html

a friend told me that if you use shadow perspex with either a row of leds or some el wire around the edges the perspex looks black until you turn the lights on then it turns transparent and glows the colour of the lights, im yet to test this and i think it would only work if one side of the perspex was dark but im guessing it would be a lot cheaper than the other solutions...

Thanks alot mate, your a good man

ive seen kits around which are an unbacked LCD for the use of covering number plates overseas. very illegal. all teh panels ive seen over here have the circuiry mounted to the back making them unsuitable.

LCD technology would be the best way to go but itll be big dollars i would think.

there is also the simpler light reactive glass that they use for glasses etc but also would be big dollars and not really controllable.

The glass is also known as switchable or privacy glass:
Switchable Glass

Very expensive and probably not worth it for a car install yet. I will be looking at this type of install as well once the price is reasonable.

I do believe these have been for sale for a good few years now (I'm fairly sure we stock them at my work), but the legalities are a tad dubious

My MG had this on the rear view mirror to stop headlights shinning in your eyes at night - i believe lexus' have the same

The skydeck (The Edge) in the Eureka towers, Melbourne, is using a material like your after. Maybe they had some left overs or wouldnt mind if you borrowed some
Theres youtube clips of it in action.