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

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

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.

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?

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, 201015 yr by mississippichem

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.

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