Tim Boddy
Last Word is Â鶹´«Ã½â€™s long-running series in which readers give scientific answers to each other’s questions, ranging from the minutiae of everyday life to absurd astronomical hypotheticals. To answer a question or ask a new one, email lastword@newscientist.com
What difference would it have made to our species’ technological development if glass wasn’t transparent?
Pat French
Longdon-upon-Tern, Shropshire, UK
As with any major innovation of long standing, we must assume that, in the absence of transparent glass, other avenues would have been explored to a similar degree for the various industries that employ glass today. Animal horn,…
