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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"

45 of 237 comments (clear)

  1. All the ricers by doubtless · · Score: 5, Funny

    All the Ricers Rejoice!

    Now we're not limited to Type-R stickers anymore!

    --
    geek page at KY speaks
    1. Re:All the ricers by moro_666 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Who gives a [censored] about the temperature ?

      The car should be black for the rest of the world, and cute yellow for my girlfriend. So she woulnd't mind if i buy it ("cause it's soooo cute"), and i'd still have a solid nice macho black car.

      Even better would be if she'd see a small cute renault, whereas i'd see a '67 mustang ...

      --

      I'd tell you the chances of this story being a dupe, but you wouldn't like it.
  2. Pimped! by isecore · · Score: 4, Funny

    I can already hear Xzibit running like mad to get this stuff. Cars that change colors? You've officially been pimped!

    --
    I enjoy large posteriors and I cannot prevaricate.
  3. Real Scientific Applications... by Chris+Bradshaw · · Score: 4, Funny

    This could mean a great deal for real scientific applications such as the "aura detector" http://www.amasci.com/freenrg/aura/aura.html

    --
    Get your Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool Here for FREE! - http://fedora.redhat.com
    1. Re:Real Scientific Applications... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

      Insightful? Try Bunk

  4. New: The Mood Car by jmp_nyc · · Score: 5, Funny

    Just in time for the next wave of 70's nostalgia.
    -JMP

    1. Re:New: The Mood Car by KDR_11k · · Score: 2, Informative

      As even the summary says, the new part is that it can be turned into different kinds of paint. Unless your car is made of cheap plastic you can't use paint meant for plastic on it.

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
  5. we had this years ago by rebug · · Score: 5, Funny

    Hypercolor shirts were awesome!

    --

    there's more than one way to do me.
    1. Re:we had this years ago by LordLucless · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Not only awesome, but therepeutic.

      When I was a kid, I had chickenpox. My case was an especially severe one, and I was bedridden for a while with high fevers, which we kept down through medication. I just lay in bed in my hypercolour shirt, and when it started to change colour (due to the fever beginning to rise), Mum could tell the meds had worn off and I needed another dose. Better than mucking around with thermometers every half hour or so.

      --
      Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean there isn't an invisible demon about to eat your face
  6. 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 BrainInAJar · · Score: 2, Funny

      Yeah, for when the US is involved in actions that push from the arctic through a jungle to the middle east without stopping...

    2. Re:I don't get it by ozmanjusri · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Maybe it's just me, but what's so great about using this as car paint?

      Having cars which turn white or reflective in summer and dark in winter could be a huge energy saver.

      --
      "I've got more toys than Teruhisa Kitahara."
    3. 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.

  7. Police car chases by cciRRus · · Score: 3, Interesting

    They have just made police car chases a lot more harder, and interesting as well!

    --
    w00t
    1. Re:Police car chases by KDR_11k · · Score: 2, Funny

      Number-changing license plates?

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
  8. Hotwheels: Now in full size! by Ismilar · · Score: 4, Funny

    Anyone remember those Hotwheels toy cars that changed colour with hot and cold water? Or Hypercolour T-shirts? No? I think this technology is a little late for the 80's...

    1. Re:Hotwheels: Now in full size! by Kadin2048 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Yeah this is exactly what I was going to say. I definitely had a whole set of these things: the changes were pretty dramatic, too. I remember one car could go from dark blue to white in less than a second if you dropped it from warm water into ice water.

      I wonder why this is such a big deal now? Seems like the Hot Wheels guys had it figured out. Maybe their patent just expired?

      I wonder if the paint ever wears out, or stops working after a certain number of cycles or amount of time.

      --
      "Ladies and gentlemen, my killbot features Lotus Notes and a machine gun. It is the finest available."
  9. Sounds good but... by Capeman · · Score: 2, Interesting

    ...would major car manufacturers use it on their car models?

  10. Be on the lookout for... by YrWrstNtmr · · Score: 4, Funny

    1 Adam 12, 1 Adam 12...be on the lookout for a GREEN Chevy sedan. Unless its after 6 PM or so....then be on the lookout for a BLUE Chevy sedan.

  11. 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.

    --
    Content Management System: A pretentious way of saying "text editor."
    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.

      --
      Regexes are like cocaine. The first hit is pretty good, but afterwards you try to use them to solve all your problems.
  12. Wow.. they invented something that already exists. by Torawk · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Well I don't know if it works the same way but there is temp sensitive automotive paint you can buy now:

    http://www.alsacorp.com/products/xposurepaint/xpos urepaint_prodinfo.htm

    -Torawk

  13. Computer cases! by Sandman1971 · · Score: 5, Funny

    A better use of this technology would be to use the paint on computer cases and CPU fans, not cars! Yes, I'm a geek.

    --
    It's better to burn out than to fade away
    1. Re:Computer cases! by pickyouupatnine · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Well.. anything with a temperature regulation requirement. I suppose the question would be, what sort of temperature constraints do these paints work under? Or can they be 'configured' to work under any fixed range?

      --
      _Vishal www.squad9.com
  14. 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.

  15. Coming soon... by winkydink · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...to a a Type-R near you. Huge rear wing that applies downforce to the wrong wheels optional.

    --

    "I'd rather be a lightning rod than a seismometer." -Ken Kesey

    1. Re:Coming soon... by Dachannien · · Score: 2, Informative

      This seriously riced out link goes out to all the people who don't know what the parent post was talking about.

  16. parking lot by lposeidon · · Score: 5, Funny

    its hard enough to find my car in a parking lot when it has normal paint. imagine trying to find your car when it changed colors. its down right impossible.

    --
    Lizard "Never let them set limits on your mind!"
  17. Gives a whole new meaning to the term "hot car"... by Zhe+Mappel · · Score: 4, Funny

    The job of a car thief is hard enough without also having to consult the Weather Channel for opportune times to strike. ;-)

  18. Temperature based cosmetics? by boss+soul · · Score: 2, Funny

    How would this work, exactly?

    "Wow Carol... that new rouge really looks nice on you!"

    "Thanks for noticing, Sue - but it only looks nice when the temperature is below 75 degrees... any warmer than that and I'd look like a total whore!"

  19. 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!

  20. Been there, done that! by Descalzo · · Score: 2, Funny

    My car has that paint! It's activated by salt on the winter roads and other things. I've had to wait a long time for the colors to change, but there is a sort of reddish-brown highlight effect behind the tires, at the tip of the hood, and above the windsheild, surrounded by a drab gray halo, then the silver-gray regular color of the car. It looks pretty amazing!

    --
    I cried real tears when Li Mu Bai died.
  21. Alternative Automotive by Associate · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Paint parts of the car engine. I wouldn't mind knowing that when my intake manifold turns from white to red that it is at normal operating temperature. But if it should happen to turn purple, it's running too hot.

    --
    Someone hates these cans.
    1. Re:Alternative Automotive by rbinns · · Score: 2, Interesting

      This would actually be a practical use of this paint. In racing, when a team needs to quickly diagnose an engine problem clearly as a result of a bad cylinder (bad spark plug), they will put chalk streaks on the headers and see which one melts the slowest, thus pointing to the problem. If they could create a powder coat with the same properties and paint even a small part of the headers, one could visually inspect for misfiring cylinders and, if controlled well enough, could quantify cylinder-to-cylinder variations visually.

    2. Re:Alternative Automotive by `NS · · Score: 5, Informative

      According to a friend of mine, helicopter mechanic, they already do this to some degree. The gearbox for the tailrotor is painted with a paint which will change colours if it is goes over the maximum allowable temperature. It does not change back to its original colour after cooling down.

  22. Re:Certainly not going to be used in cars by falcon5768 · · Score: 2, Informative

    In addition to being ridiculously expensive, it was later decided you couldn't paint your car with it, since it would complicate things if law enforcement needed to locate your car bullshit, they use that paint all the time on cars. you can even buy it in a spraycan now.

    --

    "Slashdot, where telling the truth is overrated but lying is insightful."

  23. Re:we had this years ago and it was crap then too. by kholburn · · Score: 5, Funny

    Yeah: hypercolor shirts that changed colour when you changed temperature - showed where you were sweaty etc.

    A car that has a big red splotch on the bonnet just above the engine when it warms up.

    That's got to be useful for something, NOT.

  24. Wow... welcome back to two decades ago by illumina+us · · Score: 2, Informative

    Didn't they have similar paint on toy cars in the 80s and 90s?

    --
    -illumina+us "I put on my robe and wizard hat..."
  25. intercoolers & radiators by doubtless · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Actually this might be useful if it's coated on radiators or intercoolers for testing and comparison purposes. You can visually inspect the efficiency of the product.

    --
    geek page at KY speaks
  26. "Changing color due to humidity" by Nova+Express · · Score: 3, Funny
    Cars can already change color due to humidity. It's called "rust". Look for this amazing shade in the 1974 Ford Pinto, or the 1989 Yugo.

    --
    Lawrence Person (lawrencepersonh@gmailh.com (remove all "h"s to mail)

    http://www.lawrenceperson.com/

  27. Old news by Sepper · · Score: 2, Funny

    Color changes with temperature or humidity?
    Bah! We already have that up north... and it's free... it's called 'snow'

    --
    I live in Soviet Canuckistan you insensitive clod!
  28. Polka-dots! by Malduin · · Score: 2, Funny

    Imagine a cold rain on a warm hood...

  29. Re:Naill Polish by narcc · · Score: 2, Funny
    As for Hypercolour T shirts... mine changed from Green to Yellow

    My T-shrit changed from white to yellow -- but I couldn't get it to change back...
    --
    Required reading for internet skeptics
  30. Thermochromic Paint by Lihtan · · Score: 2, Informative

    This is called thermochromic paint, and it's been available on the market for a while now.

    Here's a company that sells thermochromic paint, their website has pictures and even videos of the color changing in effect:
    http://www.trippininc.com

    --
    Divide by zero hurts my brain.
  31. not just the 80s by commodoresloat · · Score: 2, Funny

    remember mood rings? Just imagine mood cars! Show the world your road rage as your car turns a fiery angry reddish-purple...