Hawt So, scientists have created a metal that is so hydrophobic that water bounces off it

[Mr. Argumentor]

http://www.rochester.edu/newscenter/superhydrophobic-metals-85592/

 

[Duke]

I read that. And it had nothing to do with changing the chemical composition of the metal, and everything to do with a laser etching on the surface.

The potential of such a thing is pretty big.

 

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

Yup, a surface treatment with a laser
Once they scale it up to do larger areas more quickly, the applications will be endless

 

[Mr. Argumentor]

I wonder if they can combine the etching with other coatings. I could see it becoming a big thing for boats, but aluminum corrosion would probably negate the etching pretty quickly

 

[fly]

Keeping it clean from more than just dust might be a problem, but still: NEAT

 

[plot]

how the hell do you wash it?

 

[Duke]

how the hell do you wash it?

WIth a thorium shake

 

[Valve1138]

What would happen if you made a swimming pool out of this stuff? Or a bath tub.

 

[Duke]

What would happen if you made a swimming pool out of this stuff? Or a bath tub.

division by zero

 

[plot]

the water would all bounce out. worst pool ever

 

[Duke]

the water would all bounce out. worst pool ever

OR MOST AWESOME

 

[hydra]

What would happen if you made a swimming pool out of this stuff? Or a bath tub.

 

[Mr. Argumentor]

What would happen if you made a swimming pool out of this stuff? Or a bath tub.

I wonder if algae would grow in the pool... if it did, it should end up a lot easier to clean

 

[fly]

What would happen if you made a swimming pool out of this stuff? Or a bath tub.

It would continue to be a pool. Or bathtub.

 

[Valve1138]

It would continue to be a pool. Or bathtub.

But it would be INSANE

 

[gee]

Interesting, making a surface that hydrophobic means you have to make it chemically non-polar to prevent ionic attraction between the water and surface, and have an extremely smooth surface (little surface area) to minimize van der Waals adhesion. And they seem to achieve this by blasting it with a laser - creating god knows what chemical mess on the surface, which is likely highly polar... and definitely increasing the surface area.

The whole thing seems ass backwards... I plasma etch stuff at work to make it hydrophilic.

 

[Petunia]

What's the point

 

[Mr. Argumentor]

What's the point

What's the point of making this?
If water slips off of this metal instantly you've almost eliminated the potential for rust, for one. There are several other reasons mentioned in the article. They're looking at ways to adapt it to other materials than metal. If they can do that to glass you'd never need a wiper blade again (maybe, bug guts and bird shit might still be a problem)

 

[Jehannum]

What's the point of making this?
If water slips off of this metal instantly you've almost eliminated the potential for rust, for one. There are several other reasons mentioned in the article. They're looking at ways to adapt it to other materials than metal. If they can do that to glass you'd never need a wiper blade again (maybe, bug guts and bird shit might still be a problem)

Metal rusts without exposure to water. All it takes is oxygen.

 

[Mr. Argumentor]

Metal rusts without exposure to water. All it takes is oxygen.

I know.