Article: Dibujos transparentes, trazos opacos (Miguel Ángel Rego Robles)

We invite you to read the article by our external collaborator Miguel Ángel Rego Robles, of the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, which presents a brief chronology of the paths taken by glass as a material and creative writing medium. The shift between the properties of transparency and opacity in glass and crystal has been a constant in its rhetorical applications: from its invention by nitre merchants to the durability of holograms adhered to iron-doped lithium niobate crystal (LiNbO3:Fe), developed by researcher Eva Mónica de Miguel.

At the start of the 21st century, the transparency of glass has become a possibility for long-term digital data storage. However, magnetic hard drives and USB memory sticks have prevailed in the market, despite offering less durability against data degradation and higher energy consumption. Today, 5D quartz glass discs have gained prominence and could become the storage medium of the future, at a time when environmental awareness, fears over the loss of digital information and excessive consumption dominate several current social debates.

Reference: Rego, M. A. (2024). Dibujos transparentes, trazos opacos: el vidrio como soporte de escritura artística y tecnológica. Cuadernos del Centro de Estudios de Diseño y Comunicación, (256), 169–187. Print ISSN: 1668-0227. Online ISSN: 1853-3523. Quality indicators: CAICYT, CONICET, SciELO, LATINDEX, DIALNET.