Panel assembly having variable transmissivity and structural rigidity

A panel assembly that is transparent to a preselected form of radiation and that is configured to selectively vary the transmissivity of the preselected form of radiation through the panel assembly, the panel assembly comprising:

• a first transparent sub panel including a plurality of generally parallel, spaced, first wires extending therethrough from a first edge to an opposite, second edge with at least an end of each first wire connected to an end of an adjacent first wire at one of the first edge or the second edge to form a plurality of U-shaped conductive elements, each U-shaped conductive element having an electromagnetic coil wound thereabout at or about the first edge or the second edge of the first transparent sub panel to form a “horseshoe” electromagnet at each of the connected first wires;
• a second transparent sub panel including a plurality of generally parallel, spaced, second wires extending therethrough from a third edge to an opposite, fourth edge with at least an end of each second wire connected to an end of an adjacent second wire at one of the third edge or the fourth edge to form a second plurality of U-shaped conductive elements, each U-shaped conductive element of the second plurality having an electromagnetic coil wound thereabout at or about the third edge or the fourth edge of the second transparent sub panel to form a “horseshoe” electromagnet at each of the connected second wires;
• and
• a magneto-rheological fluid reservoir sandwiched between the first transparent sub panel and the second transparent panel, the reservoir being structured to house a volume of a magneto-rheological fluid.