hydrophobic
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Tough water-repellent coating could lead to faster ships
You've no doubt seen footage of water-repellent coatings that seemingly defy the laws of nature. However, they have a catch: they're often too fragile to be useful in situations where they're likely to face a lot of abuse, whether it's the clothes on your back or a ship on the ocean. Researchers may finally have a solution that's tough enough to survive these conditions, however. They've developed a coating whose combination of fluorinated polyurethane elastomer and a complex, extremely hydrophobic molecule can self-heal "hundreds" of times despite phenomenal levels of abuse. It'll recover from direct strikes, burns, chemical attacks and even ultrasonic blasts.
Nissan's dirt-phobic paint keeps a car spotless for the duration of a PR video
For some people, washing the car is a calming pastime that induces feelings of satisfaction and fresh beginnings. For everyone else, there's this: Super-hydrophobic and aleophobic paint, which repels water and some oil-based liquids, and which Nissan is currently trialing on one of its cars in Europe. The video below shows what happened to a car that was taken for a messy drive with half of the body coated with the new stuff ("Ultra-Ever Dry") and the other half with regular Dulux (or whatever it is they use these days). The results speak for themselves, but they don't say anything about how long this self-cleaning ability actually lasts. In industrial applications, where a version of the paint is already being used, it's easily rubbed off and rarely survives longer than a year. Nevertheless, Nissan says it's evaluating Ultra-Ever Dry's viability and hopes to offer it as an aftermarket option on a future model -- at which point it might also make sense to splash out on a self-cleaning windshield, headlights, dash system, and door handles.
New water-resistant coating protects your phone, the planet (video)
Water, the life-long foe of all things electrical. Protecting our digital finery from its evil infiltration is a task many have undertaken, and the latest battalion to join the foray is Daikin Industries. The chemical company is developing a water-resistant coating that could save many devices from a watery grave. We've seen similar ideas before, but Daikin's promises to have good eco-credentials thanks to its low toxicity. Formed by dissolving a fluoropolymer in fluorinated solvent, the coating takes just a minute to dry and is extremely thin -- between 0.1 and 1 microns. The coating isn't designed for full waterproofing, but rather to raise the base level resistance to liquid attacks. Most interestingly of all, it can also be applied to porous and meshed surfaces, such as mouthpiece grills. It's hoped to be commercially available from December this year, so you'll have to try to avoid any little accidents until then.
The Engadget Show 29: Red Cameras, MakerBot and the coolest gadgets of CES 2012
Consider this one last hurrah for CES 2012. Sure, we've happily left the Las Vegas Convention Center in the rear view mirror of the magical mystery Engadget trailer, but there's still plenty to talk about. We kick things off with a recap of Apple's textbook announcement, discussing what implications the move might have for the industry, before taking you on a tour of the Engadget CES trailer and stage. Next up, with got a pile of the Consumer Electronic Show's hottest devices on the gadget table, including the HTC Titan II, Acer Aspire S5, HP Envy 14 Spectre, Pantech Element and Burst, Nokia Lumia 900, Samsung Galaxy Note, Sony Xperia S and the $79 Ainovo Novo7 Paladin -- one of which will find its way into a tank of water. We also take you on a tour of the CES show floor and get some serious hands-on time with the new Red Scarlet camera. MakerBot's Bre Pettis joins us on stage to discuss the company's new Replicator 3D printer and we close things out with a performance by NYC's Ducky and a few of her dancer pals. Hosts: Tim Stevens, Brian Heater, Darren Murph Special guests: Bre Pettis, Richard Lai, Richard Lawler Producer: Guy Streit Director: Michelle Stahl Executive Producers: Joshua Fruhlinger, Brian Heater and Michael Rubens Music by: Ducky Download the Show: The Engadget Show - 029 (HD) / The Engadget Show - 029 (iPod / iPhone / Zune formatted) / The Engadget Show - 029 (Small) Subscribe to the Show: [iTunes] Subscribe to the Show directly in iTunes (MP4). [Zune] Subscribe to the Show directly in the Zune Marketplace (MP4). [RSS MP4] Add the Engadget Show feed (MP4) to your RSS aggregator and have it delivered automatically. [HD RSS] Get the Engadget Show delivered automatically in HD. [iPad RSS] Get the Engadget Show in iPad-friendly adaptive format.
Future Nokia phones repellent, says water (video)
Nokia's latest "super" hydrophobic coating doesn't take half-measures. This new technology binds a layer of nanotech magic to the surface of its devices that literally bounces liquids away. Although we've been told the nanotubes at work here are most effective with water, other liquids (and smudgy fingerprints) should also find the treated surface difficult to latch onto. Due to the thinness of this waterproofing solution, a spokesperson told us here at Nokia World that even the inner workings of a phone could be treated in the same way. No more incidents in the bathroom? Count us in. Check the video after the break for some slo-mo water slippage. %Gallery-137709% Zach Honig contributed to this report.
Graphene coatings used to repel, attract water, could make Rain-X decidedly obsolete
Graphene looks poised to replace our silicon and our touchscreens, even fix our batteries. Now it's due for something perhaps a little less revolutionary: keep our pants clean. Physicist James Dickerson and a team of researchers at Vanderbilt University have created two ways to apply thin graphene sheets that either make them super-hydrophobic or super-hydrophilic. These alternate arrangements, termed "rug" and "brick," make the water bead up and run off or spread out and form incredibly thin sheets. Potential applications are windshields that don't need wipers, pants that cause red wine drops to just bounce off, and goggles that never, ever fog -- no buffing required.
Dry water absorbs greenhouse gases, boggles the mind
Apparently, something called dry water has been kicking around since 1968, although it wasn't until recently that scientists at the University of Hull and, later, the University of Liverpool, have begun to take it seriously. It's made by encasing a water droplet in sand that's been modified to be hydrophobic -- that is, it won't absorb water, giving this "water" the consistency of powdered sugar. There seem to be a gazillion potential uses for the stuff, all of which our friends who are chemical engineers will undoubtedly find fascinating, including: soaking up carbon dioxide (it's three times more effective at absorbing the greenhouse gas than "wet" water), storing methane, and as a catalyst to speed up production of succinic acid, which is used to make a wide array of drugs, food ingredients, and consumer products.
China's super buoyant, super small copper boats
Researchers in China, inspired by Mother Nature, have developed postage stamp-sized copper mesh boats, "some of the most buoyant" yet devised. Taking a page from both the shark and the lotus, the team applied a rough and uneven coating to the surface of the mesh, which reduces the vessel's contact with water. Next, a hydrophobic was applied, which keeps water from penetrating the porous material, "even when they are carrying a load," according to Dr Qinmin Pan, a chemist from Harbin Institute of Technology. "We believe these boats are some of the strongest ever built - in terms of the mass they can carry." Possible uses for the superhydrophobic material include microfluidic devices (where minuscule amounts of a liquid are used to carry information on a chip) and miniature aquatic robots. As you know, ensuring replicant diversity is an important part of their plan.
