water-repellent
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Scientists defy gravity with 'perpetual' water pump
Scientists have figured out how to pump water upwards in a thick tube using a combination of surface tension and water-repellent materials. Before you get your hopes up, it's definitely no perpetual-motion machine -- but the discovery from Beihang University researchers in China could bring other benefits. Here's how it works: The right angle pipe shown above is filled with a small amount of water, which can't drain thanks to a copper mesh doped with a superhydrophobic (water-rejecting) material at the bottom. When a small droplet is introduced, it's drawn upward by surface tension, albeit very slowly (the above GIF is sped up about 75 times).
MIT develops fog resistant, glare-free glass, it's clearly amazing (video)
It sounds like it's not just us that spend half our sweet time with lint-free cloth in hand. Researchers at MIT have developed a new type of glass that "virtually eliminates" reflections, and is also water-repellent. By using techniques from the semiconductor industry, conical nano-textures etched into the layered surface that give the wonder-glass its fog, glare and self-cleaning properties. The hope is that the technology will find its way into our many daily screens and even windows. It's not all about gadget vanity though; solar panels lose efficiency over time through residual surface build up, and using the new glass could go some way to eliminate that issue. If they can just remember where they put the ultra-clear test sample that is.
