Awesome Transparent

CoolGeek takes the classic CD player and turns it on its side. The player is mounted inside of a picture frame, and its circuitry and mechanism are visible while playing discs. It has both Bluetooth and 3.5mm audio outputs and runs on a rechargeable 18650 Lithium battery. Stand it up, hold it in your lap, or mount it on the wall.

This unique deck of see-through playing cards is printed with images of the human anatomy. When stacked in the proper order, the slices form a complete body. The Body Deck comes from the mind of Vsauce creator Michael Stevens. It’s available exclusively as part of his Fall 2024 Curiosity Box, which comes packed with fun stuff for learning about science.

Not that anyone was asking, but the Waterjet Channel just answered the question of whether you can make a transparent circular saw blade that can cut wood. After trying to cut a blade from glass, they moved on to versions made from plastic wrap, laminated glass, and Lexan. Needless to say, there’s a reason they make saw blades from steel.

The Hydraulic Press Channel created a shiny new tool for showing off the destructive power of their industrial press. The upgraded WormMaker 5,000,0000 is made from thick acrylic, making it easy to see what’s going on as items get smashed and emerge like a fountain from the holes on top. It’s great at smooshing fruits, but can it handle candles?

Maker Tim Sway has built a couple of “0% wood” instruments in the past, including an acrylic bass guitar, and another made from Corian. This time, he decided to build something that’s much more reliant on the aural properties of its construction – an acoustic guitar. As you’ll see, it was a very challenging and frustrating project.

With the right lens curvature, it’s possible to project an image that’s not visible until light shines through it. Science educator Steve Mould explains the optical and mathematical properties of these uniquely engineered lenses. A similar effect can be created with mirrors and reflected light. Rayform specializes in the technique.

Performance gaming accessory maker Finalmouse is teasing a visually stunning keyboard. The Centerpiece has a screen behind its see-through keys, and can display interactive skins which change with each keypress. It has custom Gateron mechanical switches and an on-board CPU/GPU. Drops in early 2023 for $349.

This unique mechanical keyboard has a transparent case in one of six shades. It’s fully customizable with five types of switches and three keycap profiles. It has programmable RGB backlighting, hot-swappable switches, and it supports 2.4GHz, Bluetooth, and USB connections. A matching numeric keyboard is available.

Loeva is showing off their design for a standup paddleboard that lets you see through to the water below your feet. It’s made using a crystal clear material for its middle, wrapped in a lightweight carbon frame. Integral LED lighting provides illumination to a depth of up to 15 meters (49 feet) in clear water.

While stuck at home with some free time on his hands, car enthusiast Brian King aka AWDcutlass decided to rebuild a full-size GM LS V8 engine inside of a transparent acrylic shell. It’s pretty wild to see all the parts moving inside of it, and it looks especially awesome when he turns on the LED lighting. See Part 1 of the build here.

MakePlayingCards is showing off a truly unique deck of cards that you can see through. The waterproof plastic cards feature a high-gloss transparent print that produce an embossed effect. Since you can see their values through their backs, you wouldn’t want to play poker with them, but they’re beautiful for cardistry.

When you place clear glass into certain kinds of oil, it can eliminate refraction and reflections, making it appear invisible. A few years back scientists from Japan’s National Institute for Materials Science decided to build a Rube Goldberg machine that takes advantage of this illusion, complete with invisible steps and ramps.