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Car Paint Changes With Temperature

Posted by Zonk on from the ooo-shiny dept.

PlayfullyClever writes "It's now common to build materials which can change colors depending on their surrounding environment because of progresses made in colloid chemistry. But now, German researchers have gone a step further. They've used ion bombardment and gold metallisation to produce new particles whose bonding behavior can be chemically tailored. This could lead to new shimmering car finishes which can change with temperature or humidity, new cosmetics, but more importantly, to new applications in optical data processing"

6 of 237 comments (clear)

  1. I don't get it by the_humeister · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Maybe it's just me, but what's so great about using this as car paint? Certainly the article could have expanded on other uses. On the other hand, it might pretty good for my low-rider

    1. Re:I don't get it by iggymanz · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I was think of the opposite for a car to become more visible for purposes of safety: during the day and in good weather your car is its normal color, but turns white or light pastel color at night, dark during daytime snowstorm, yellow-green during fog, etc.

  2. Possible flaw by MirrororriM · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I forsee one possible flaw with this technology. I am from Michigan and we see hot summers and cold winters. In winter, your hood will be much warmer than the rest of your vehicle due to the engine heat. I would think you would end up with blotches all over your car. In summer, the air conditioning, I would think, would produce similar results.

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    1. Re:Possible flaw by lboxman · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Your wife or nosy neighbor could simply feel the hood to see if the engine was warm.

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  3. Colors that attract heat by aussie_a · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This could be used to change the car to a color that attracts heat when it's cold, and repels heat when it's hot. It might help somewhat with the heat and cold, but would the particles add more heat so the heat repelling functions don't really work? I'm thinking no, as I believe it happens on a micro-level, but I could be wrong.

  4. Now, where did I park my car again? by Boccaccio · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Damn - I have trouble remembering where I parked my car at the best of times. If it's gonna start changing colour too then I'm really screwed!