MIT fabricates nanowire mats to selectively absorb oil
By Darren Murph 
posted Jun 1st 2008 11:52PM
posted Jun 1st 2008 11:52PM
[Via NewScientist]
posted Jun 1st 2008 11:52PM
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That's fucking awesome.
I literally said those same exact words when I read this article.
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"The creation is a mat of nanowires that actually looks a lot like paper, but unlike the material your paycheck gets printed on..."
But all of us use direct deposit, of course, because we're trying to make a cleaner, safer tomorrow.
*drives hybrid to a monster truck rally*
If Engadget reported on half the ideas that scientists working (playing?) at universities experiment with you guys would run out of "fucking awesome"s in a week. Science is fun. :)
briefs please
oooh, i hope someone makes a double entendre about fluids!
These researchers definately catch my drift..
I'm overflowing with excitement... good thing I'm wearing these cool new pants
You know, theoretically, at least, since this can absorb fluids 20times it's weight....
If something--or someone--were to be wrapped in this material, and but into a vat of oil, said object--or person--would be crushed and very slowly, I'd assume.
Now, what were you saying about Steve Jobs? Oh yeah, when I think of a phone made mainly of metal and glass, I think environmentally friendly because we know how readily those things decompose.
Does it work for blood?
Well blood is composed mainly of red blood cells and plasma. Plasma is mostly water, nutrients, and electrolytes (so it's hydrophilic). Red blood cells are composed of a hydrophobic membrane with integral membrane proteins and a hydrophilic cytoplasm.
In theory, this could be used to "suck up" the red blood cells. However, it may also break the red blood cell membrane apart in a similar fashion as the detergent effect, which would release the red dye, which is hydrophilic, and would likely seep back into the textile/surface being cleaned. The evidence would still be there.
Next week on "Getting away with Murder": Did you know that only about 20% of murders go to court and lead to a conviction? Safety is an illusion.
On a serious note... although I applaud these scientists for their discovery and intentions, I believe that more research needs to be done into its effects on the normal concentrations of hydrophobic solutes and on cell membranes before implementation.
Are you serious...no really are you?
I thought (based on the headline) that they had created some sort of super-pad for all those oily teen foreheads! This application is good too, though.
thats wat I thought exactly!
it's beyond the realm of possibility
stick it into someone fat and in a couple of hours, pull out eh fat
We already have a safer way of doing that. It's called liposuction.
but lipo = bruise!
this = passive awesomeness
You would have to slice someone open to get to the fat...
and I thought they smelled bad...
-on the /outside/.
What is the pen in there for?
oh yeah I get it... Selectivly absorb.. It absorbed the oil and not the pen.. Wow thats really neat!!
Seriously though, if they can program it to absorb different things, would make a kick ass filter...
And what would a kick ass filter do? Have it around the ass, absorbing the kick and nothing else?
Farts?
lol Clak
You're sad.
Would make a nice cleaning cloth for screens...
I want it to filter my water.
might wanna drink less oily water
This is a few months old.
they have these. down south, when an oil spill happens we have what they call "diapers"
they are about a 3x3 mat that soaks the oil out of the dirt. the only down side is that they are >$150 and are 1 use.
be interesting to see the price of these.
I can see women start using this to wipe the oil off their faces.
you're not in frequent close contact with them are ya?
hmmm ... i'm suspecting you've been hijacked by user "Steffen Jobbs", the full time 'joke member' (that's what she said to him).
no use for the fast-food industry, then.
Can it absorb liquids from pants aswell? 'cause while reading this i made a bit of a mess :o
Quality posts like these are why I read engadget.
will try this on my oily face
It can be used for water filtration systems too.
Can the oil soaked up be extracted with something else? May be this is a better and cheaper way to extract oil from Alberta oil sand or oil shale.