GE develops non-stick plastic
By Thomas Ricker 
posted Feb 24th 2006 12:47PM
posted Feb 24th 2006 12:47PM
It makes us feel all warm and fuzzy to
know that some of the best minds on this watery blue ellipsoid are working hard to crack the secret of Fermat's Last
Theorem and uh, how to efficiently dislodge ketchup onto fries. See, the good folks at GE have modified the inexpensive
plastic "Lexan" to make it more slippery than a "freshly waxed car." While GE has not
set out to make consumables yet, it's easy to imagine practical uses in sticky sweet food containers, ever-clean
building materials, and in medical applications where tiny volumes of bodily fluids must be whisked away through
micrometer-scale channels. Yeah, we know what you're thinking -- it's been done.
lexan has been around for a while. I've used it for many years now.
Restaurants have been using Lexan containers for food storage for years, too. It really does clean up quite easily, though.
Didn't someone solve Fermat's Last Theorem?
I'm thinking "best slide ever!"
You may want to edit the post to something more like
"the good folks at GE have developed a new version of the inexpensive plastic Lexan which is more slippery than a "freshly waxed car." While GE has not set out to make consumables yet...etc"
apparently sarcasm and the internet don't work... who'da thunk?
Yeah guys--this was a misread...they've developed a process to modify Lexan, which has been around for years, so that it is superhyrdophobic.
Here is a link to Wikipedia showing 1994 as when the proof was fixed and settled on. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermat%27s_Last_Theorem
I'm sure this is being worked on, or maybe there's even prototypes or full working examples, but shouldn't GE be thinking to itself "crap, we need to develop this kind of thing with something other than petrochemicals"? Just a thought.
Wasn't Lexan discovered in 1953?
Yup, I misread the original. Post changed to reflect a modification to, not development of Lexan. And yeah, FLT was solved, but I'm only halfway through the book. Thanks for the spoiler Beldurnik!
yeah...I'd like to coat my car with something like that...the color black doesn't do well with dirt.
Lexan, slippery, Sounds like a nice of windshield to me. Like RainX all the time.
Actually, I don't think food is going to be their only target. GE has their plastic sights set on cars, and has for years. Yeah, I know they have to make it more scratch resistant too (which they've been working on as well), but start imagining the volume of plastic sales if you start replacing windows in cars. Part of that solution is apparently this.
the picture is good though!
Has to prove something unraveled so far!!!!!!!!!
Quote: I'm sure this is being worked on, or maybe there's even prototypes or full working examples, but shouldn't GE be thinking to itself "crap, we need to develop this kind of thing with something other than petrochemicals"?
Why would they think that? Corporations, in of themselves, aren't environmentally conscious. It would have to be individuals in power who think like that, and that mentality has to work it's way down. Maybe the odd individual research is looking for ways to make Lexan out of corn, but first they have to solve the problem of making super slick Lexan anyway.
I wonder how it fits in that a main component of polycarbonate lexan, bisphenol-A, is an endocrine disruptor?
http://www.ourstolenfuture.org/NewScience/oncompounds/bisphenola/bpauses.htm#recentimportant
I want this a) to be nice and durable and b) on the bottom of a snowboard :)
Is there something wrong with polypropelene now?