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posted by takyon on Wednesday March 16 2016, @12:45AM   Printer-friendly
from the give-them-the-slip-off dept.

On your car windshield, ice is a nuisance. But on an airplane, wind turbine, oil rig, or power line, it can be downright dangerous. And removing it with current methods—usually chemical melting agents or labor-intensive scrapers and hammers—is difficult and expensive work.

But a new durable and inexpensive ice-repellent coating could change that. Thin, clear, and slightly rubbery to the touch, the spray-on formula could make ice slide off equipment, airplanes, and car windshields with only the force of gravity or a gentle breeze.

Researchers say the discovery could have major implications in industries like energy, shipping, and transportation, where ice is a constant problem in cold climates.

The coating could also lead to big energy savings in freezers, which today rely on complex and energy-hungry defrosting systems to stay frost-free. An ice-repelling coating could do the same job with zero energy consumption, making household and industrial freezers up to 20 percent more efficient. The paper is published in the journal Science Advances [open, DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1501496].

Essentially, the rubbery coating jiggles and shakes the ice off.

University of Michigan source.


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  • (Score: 2) by vux984 on Wednesday March 16 2016, @06:07AM

    by vux984 (5045) on Wednesday March 16 2016, @06:07AM (#318894)

    "Do you imagine that, somehow, there exist a way to "convince" the water in cold air to not freeze and remain magically suspended in that freezing air?"

    Of course not, I presumed the "expensive defrosting" equipment that was mentioned in the summary are dehumidfiers of some sort that take the water in the air inside the freezer and removed it to the outside of the freezer; to prevent it from forming frost/ice in the freezer.

    Now, as the summary says this defrosting equipment won't be needed now that we have hydrophobic spray... then, as you said, "where is the water in the air going to go?" That was essentially my question too.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 16 2016, @08:08AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 16 2016, @08:08AM (#318911)

    > "Do you imagine that, somehow, there exist a way to "convince" the water in cold air to not freeze and remain magically suspended in that freezing air?"

    I can imagine such a thing. A surface that interacts with ice crystals in such a way that they won't form unless the temperature is significantly below the normal freezing point. In which case I would expect frost to form on the surfaces of other items in the freezer, which might not be so bad depending how how long stuff is left in there.

    In the best case the water vapor would condense as a liquid on that surface where it could be routed out a drain, as compared to a frost-free freezer that has heating elements underneath all the surfaces in order to melt the frost before draining it.