A Liquid That Turns Solid When Heated

Roland Piquepaille writes "There are some sure things in life, such as death and taxes. When you are heating a solid, you expect it will melt and when you're boiling water, you're pretty certain that it will turn into vapor. But what about a liquid that becomes solid when it's heated? Of course, it has already been done, for example in the chemical process of polymerization. But now, PhysicsWeb writes that a team of French physicists has discovered a law-breaking liquid that defies the rules. When you heat it between 45 and 75C, it becomes solid. But the process is fully reversible, and this is a world's premiere. When you decrease the temperature, this solid melts and turns again into a liquid. I'm not sure of the implications of such a phenomenon, but it's fascinating. Read more for essential details."

Comments

what it says

[pbranes]

What it says:

Plazanet and colleagues prepared a liquid solution containing a-cyclodextrine (alpha-CD), water and 4-methylpyridine (4MP). Cyclodextrines are cyclic structures containing hydroxyl end groups that can form hydrogen bonds with either the 4MP or water molecules.

What I see:

And if you expect me to tell you how this discovery will modify our lives, you're going to be disappointed. I've not a slightest idea about it, even if I find fascinating that scientists always find new ways to break rules and shake our certitudes.

Heat shield?

[BigZaphod]

I don't know much about physics, but could something like this be used as a heat shield of some kind? Like, where the shield is basically considered turned off when it is in the liquid state. Then when it hits a certain overload temperature, it turns to a solid and thus blocks (some of) the heat exchange?

Gets hard when you heat it?

[garyisabusyguy]

Why do I see a new line of sex toys being based on this?

Or at least a splint that packs down small but that remains rigid when in contact with a warm body.

Um.. Maybe that would apply to a sex toy ;)