Transparent Colorless waterbased Gel. How to?

[netrat]

Is it possible to make a completely transparent, colorless gel based on water?

I need it for an optical instrument, replacing glass with gel.

[Mr Skeptic]

Nothing is completely transparent. A gel would be problematic for optical instruments since its size/shape would change if water content changed, and you would have humidity in your instrument maybe fogging up your lenses.

[netrat]

Nothing is completely transparent. A gel would be problematic for optical instruments since its size/shape would change if water content changed, and you would have humidity in your instrument maybe fogging up your lenses.

 

I have planned to protect the instrument inside airtight glass casing. Only The complex shapes made of glass inside the instrument will be replaced by gel.

A little color is tolerable. But not like agar gel which finally turns yellow.

Some hair gels are completely colorless. But Is it possible to make a cheap(cheaper than shaped glass) water-based gel?

[mississippichem]

I have planned to protect the instrument inside airtight glass casing. Only The complex shapes made of glass inside the instrument will be replaced by gel.

A little color is tolerable. But not like agar gel which finally turns yellow.

Some hair gels are completely colorless. But Is it possible to make a cheap(cheaper than shaped glass) water-based gel?

 

See the wikipedia article for aerogel. That's the closest thing I can think of. There they're hard to make though, and are fairly hygroscopic (water makes them lose their transparency).

 

Edited for stupidity

Edited September 22, 2010 by mississippichem

[Mr Skeptic]

Well, there's the gel that we have in our eyes, and the lens in our eyes (mostly collagen I think). There's also some (proposed?) cameras with flexible lenses to cut down on the huge assortment of lenses and mechanics in the camera.

[rogerxd45]

cheap generic sex lube is clear....at least the one i have right now is, its mostly water and glycerin and a few other ingredients. its just plain "water based lubricating jelly" no flavors or anything like that and it appears to be perfectly clear to me