According to the British Daily Mail, at present, Italian architects have developed a "transparent cement" that allows sunlight to pass through the room, making the room walls look like a giant translucent glass.
This transparent cement is named "I.light" and has a number of small holes in the structure, allowing light to penetrate without affecting the integrity of the building. From a close look, it can be found that the gap between the small holes in the transparent cement is 2-3 mm. This small hole has a specific structure but does not affect the overall view of the room building.
It is reported that transparent cement is a special adhesive resin developed by Italian construction company Italcementi. At present, transparent cement is only used to build a building - the Italian pavilion of the Shanghai World Expo. Through this technology, it can effectively save energy and reduce daytime electrical energy lighting.
In the Italian Pavilion of the Shanghai World Expo, Italcementi used 40% of transparent cement in the 18-meter-high pavilion and used a total of 3,774 transparent and translucent cement boards to complete the 189-ton pavilion. There are approximately 50 holes in each clear cement board, maintaining 20% ​​transparency. Translucent cement board has a transparency of 10%.
Previous researchers have tried using fiber optics to pass through cement concrete, but Italcementi said that transparent cement is superior. Enrico Borgarello, director of research and development at Italcementi, said that "transparent cement" made of plastic resin is cheaper and less expensive than fiber optics. In addition, the transparent cement "captures" the sun's performance is stronger because the resin contains a wider viewing angle than the optical tube. These features in fact enhance the transparency of the material and make the building more luminous.
Enrico said that the company participated in the construction of the Italian pavilion at the World Expo because it wanted to find an "innovative and efficient architectural design solution." On average, 200 transparent cement boards can be built every day. At present, Translucent Cement has applied for a patent and has not yet received approval. It is expected that the material will be used throughout the world in the future.