Acrylic Glass - Uses

PMMA or Acrylic is a versatile material and has been used in a wide range of fields and applications.

Impact resistant substitute for glass

PMMA Acrylic glass is commonly used for constructing residential and commercial aquariums.
PMMA is used in the lenses of exterior lights of automobiles.
The spectator protection in ice hockey stadiums is made from PMMA.
Motorcycle helmet visors
Police vehicles for riot control often have the regular glass replaced with acrylic to protect the occupants from thrown objects.
Acrylic is used for viewing ports and even complete hulls of submersibles, such as the Alicia submarine's viewing spheres and the Bathyscaphe Trieste's windows.
Polycast acrylic sheet is the most widely used material in aircraft transparencies (windows). In applications where the aircraft is pressurized, stretched acrylic is used.

Medical technologies and implants

PMMA has a good degree of compatibility with human tissue, and can be used for replacement intraocular lenses in the eye when the original lens has been removed in the treatment of cataracts. Hard contact lenses are frequently made of this material. Soft contact lenses are often made of a related polymer, where acrylate monomers containing one or more hydroxyl groups make them hydrophilic.
In orthopaedics, PMMA bone cement is used to affix implants and to remodel lost bone. It is supplied as a powder with liquid methyl methacrylate (MMA). When mixed these yield a dough-like cement that gradually hardens. Surgeons can judge the curing of the PMMA bone cement by pressing their thumb on it. Although PMMA is biologically compatible, MMA is considered to be an irritant and a possible carcinogen. PMMA has also been linked to cardiopulmonary events in the operating room due to hypotension.Bone cement acts like a grout and not so much like a glue in arthroplasty. Although sticky, it does not bond to either the bone or the implant, it primarily fills the spaces between the prosthesis and the bone preventing motion. A big disadvantage to this bone cement is that it heats to quite a high temperature while setting and because of this it kills the bone in the surrounding area. It has a Young's modulus between cancellous bone and cortical bone. Thus it is a load sharing entity in the body not causing bone resorption.
Dentures are often made of PMMA, and can be colour-matched to the patient's teeth & gum tissue. In cosmetic surgery, tiny PMMA microspheres suspended in some biological fluid are injected under the skin to reduce wrinkles or scars permanently.

Artistic and aesthetic uses

Acrylic paint essentially consists of PMMA suspended in water; however since PMMA is hydrophobic, a substance with both hydrophobic and hydrophilic groups needs to be added to facilitate the suspension.
Modern furniture makers, especially in the 1960s and 1970s, seeking to give their products a space age aesthetic incorporated Lucite and other PMMA products into their designs, especially office chairs. Many other products (for example, guitars) are sometimes made with acrylic glass to make the commonly opaque objects translucent.
Perspex has been used as a surface to paint on, for example by Salvador Dalí.
Occasionally used as a glass substitute in picture framing, due to its relatively inexpensive cost, light weight, and shatter-resistant nature, as well as the fact that it can be ordered in larger sizes than standard picture-framing glass.
From approximately the 1960s onward, sculptors and glass artists began using acrylics, especially taking advantage of the material's flexibility, light weight, cost and its capacity to refract and filter light.
Sometimes used to make a Deal toy (in the world of finance or investment banking).

Other uses

PMMA was used in laserdisc optical media, and has been developed for use in CDs and DVDs. Although the more expensive polycarbonate is usually used because of its higher quality. PMMA-based optical media is also under development for the "TeraDisc" next-generation 3D optical data storage solution by Mempile.
Artificial fingernails are made of acrylic.
In the 1960s, luthier Dan Armstrong developed a line of electric guitars and basses whose bodies were made completely of acrylic. These instruments were marketed under the Ampeg brand. Ibanez and BC Rich have also made acrylic guitars.
Recently a blacklight-reactive tattoo ink using PMMA microcapsules was developed. This ink is reportedly safe for use, and claims to be Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved for use on wildlife that may enter the food supply.
In semiconductor research and industry, PMMA aids as a resist in the electron beam lithography process. A solution consisting of the polymer in a solvent is used to spin coat silicon and other semiconducting and semi-insulating wafers with a thin film. Patterns on this can be made by an electron beam (using an electron microscope), deep UV light (shorter wavelength than the standard photolithography process), or X-rays. Exposure to these creates chain scission or (de-cross-linking) within the PMMA, allowing for the selective removal of exposed areas by a chemical developer, making it a positive photoresist. PMMA's advantage is that it allows for extremely high resolution (nanoscale) patterns to be made. It is an invaluable tool in nanotechnology.
Small strips of PMMA are used as dosimeter devices during the Gamma Irradiation process. The optical density of PMMA changes as the Gamma dose increases and can be measured with a spectrophotometer.
It is used as a light guide for the backlights in TFT-LCDs.
Plastic optical fiber used for short distance communication is made from PMMA, and perfluorinated PMMA, clad with fluorinated PMMA, in situations where its flexibility and cheaper installation costs outweigh its poor heat tolerance and higher attenuation over glass fiber.
Sheets of PMMA are commonly used in the sign industry to make flat cut out letters in thicknesses typically varying from 0.125" to 1". These letters may be used alone to represent a company's name and/or logo, or they may be a component of channel letters which are neon or LED illuminated sign "can" commonly seen worldwide. Acrylic's attractiveness, durability and resistance to warping makes it an ideal interior and exterior sign material.
Ludwig-Musser makes a line of acrylic drums called Vistalites. They are well known as being used by Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham.
Ear stretching jewelry is also commonly formed out of PMMA, due to its inert nature and shatter-proof qualities. PMMA jewelry is fade-proof, odorless, durable, and easy to polish, giving it that modern stylish sheen.
Apple Computer's Power Mac G4 Cube was made out of PMMA
WWE's Elimination Chamber match has 4 "Containment Pods," each with a metal outlining and PMMA walls.