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New Nanotech Fabric Never Gets Wet

Posted by timothy on from the good-for-lining-lunchboxes dept.

holy_calamity writes "New Scientist reports on a simple coating for polyester that renders it unwettable — even after two months underwater it emerges dry to the touch. Water cannot attach to the new fabric thanks to nanostructured filaments and a structure that traps a constant air layer. One potential use is for low-drag swim wear."

12 of 231 comments (clear)

  1. Is this a good idea? by beh · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Water can't penetrate it - that means, rain stays outside... Good idea...

    But it also means, all your sweat stays INSIDE... BAD idea...
    I don't even want to know how soaked I'd feel after cycling for half an hour wearing a 'rain-coat' like that to keep me 'dry'!

    1. Re:Is this a good idea? by Andr+T. · · Score: 5, Interesting
      Even worse, you can't wash it:

      Unlike some water-resistant coatings, it remains more-or-less intact when the fabric is rubbed vigorously, although it didn't survive an everyday washing machine cycle.

      --

      Any life is made up of a single moment, the moment in which a man finds out, once and for all, who he is.

    2. Re:Is this a good idea? by FishAdmin · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Even worse, you can't wash it:

      Unlike some water-resistant coatings, it remains more-or-less intact when the fabric is rubbed vigorously, although it didn't survive an everyday washing machine cycle.

      That's really not such a large deal; it repels liquids, and any solids could be sprayed off with a hose/faucet/whathaveyou. It couldn't really get dirty, so there would be no need to wash it beyond a surface rinse; the bigger threat is trapping your perspiration, like beh pointed out.

      --
      Last night I played a blank tape at full volume. The mime next door went nuts.
    3. Re:Is this a good idea? by Muad'Dave · · Score: 5, Funny

      Wouldn't it be nasty if the outside were hydrophobic and the inside hydrophylic - your sweat would be yanked into the material and violently ejected from the other side! You'd look like your own Vegas water fountain show as you ran along.

      --
      Tiller's Rule: Never use a word in written form that you've only heard and never read. You will end up looking foolish.
    4. Re:Is this a good idea? by DanZ23 · · Score: 5, Informative

      This is how Gore-Tex works. You can actually sit on water and it will not come thru the membrane, but water vapor passes thru.

  2. Re:Welcome! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Sounds like my wife, Ba-ZING!

  3. funny but. by LWATCDR · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I was wondering if it could be used for Ships to lower their drag, or to line the inside of pipes.
    Not the fabric mind you but the coating.

    --
    See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
  4. More use than clothing. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This stuff would be great under roofing tiles/shingles. This has FAR more uses than clothing.

  5. Practical applications by Leafheart · · Score: 5, Interesting

    There are many important places where we can use it, besides gain an edge on competitive sports (yeah, I know, money talks).

    • If the coating can be used on anything else, I say we have a pretty serious application on anything that deals with salty water.
    • Still on the topic of swimming, how good it is the thermal isolation on this things? Can it be made to better diving suits?
    • Ship sails that do not get wet.
    • Protective clothes and other fabric for people on icy\snowy places. Specially mountaineers and the guys down at Antarctica.
    • Is it only water or any liquid? I mean, can I spray alcohol and it won't stick? What about mud? Will it only be the earth particles on the cloth and the liquid will pour off?
    --
    --- "When you gotta do something wrong. You gotta do it right. (Fighter)"
  6. What, no snarky comment about Dune? by marquis111 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Reminds me of what the Fremen used to coat their underwater water stores.

    I wonder what new and strange water behavior could be observed in a container lined in this. Would there be a meniscus -- either convex or concave -- when water was put into it? Or would the water huddle nervously in the middle, unsure of what do with itself?

  7. When it's underwater does it get wet? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Does the water get it instead?
    Nobody knows.
    Particle Man.

  8. Re:Welcome! by Captain+Hook · · Score: 5, Funny

    I, for one, welcome our new unwettable overlords!

    Shouldn't that be 'I, for one, welcome our new unwettable overcoats!' ?

    --
    These comments are my personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the other voices in my head.