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Nanocoating Waterproofs Any Gadget
An anonymous reader writes "Water has always been the bane of electronics, however American company Liquipel just announced that they have developed a way to completely waterproof any device against the elements. Using a revolutionary process, Liquipel applies a hydrophobic nanocoating to phones, computers, and other devices that completely waterproofs them and protects them against accidental exposure to liquids."
What? Your TV is only 3D HDTV? It's not WATER PROOF?! Why not? Are you poor? Why haven't you bought one? How else do you plan to entertain under water?
At one point we’ve all done it – spilt a drink over a laptop, gotten our tablets soaked in the rain, or even dropped our phone in the toilet.
I've never done any of those things with my expensive tools/toys. It baffles me how badly people treat expensive and hard to replace tools. It's not limited to technology either; a friend of mine has a collection of rusted saws, screwdrivers and other tools because he's too lazy to bring them in out of the rain after a big home improvement project. Pathetic.
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We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
why is my $15 Walgreens watch waterproof to a depth of 20 meters, but if I sneeze on my $400 Android / iPhone it's ruined and I voided the warranty?
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It is no doubt that nanocoatings are going mainstream what with the latest solar paint that can harness the sun http://www.infobarrel.com/Solar_Nanopaint_-_Paint_With_Quantum_Dot_Solar_Cells and coatings for jets and other aircraft to provide excellent aerodynamic properties. Then you have nanocoatings for engines and http://againsttheodds.hubpages.com/hub/Nanodiamond-Lubricants-And-Lubrication-Particles and countless other applications on the horizon. It is an exciting time and there is still plenty of room at the bottom.
... are just the thing for rabid technophiles!
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At least for the kindle, waterproof gadgets have already been invented.
It's called a zip-loc bag, and it is great for unwinding in the tub.
Actually, the ipod touch/iphone works really well in a plastic bag as well. The touch sensor seems to have no problem being behind the extra plastic, which is nice in heavy rain.
What I've read in the media of this process suggests that it's parylene. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parylene
If so, it's not revolutionary, but a good application of an old coating technology. When I get my iPhone 5, I'll probably send it to these guys for coating.
How could you coat the interior of a microSD card slot that's covered with a loose-fitting cover and make it waterproof? If the nano-coating doesn't conduct electricity then any card you insert won't make contact with the contacts. If it does conduct, then it's useless as a waterproofing seal over electronics. The same would seem to hold true for any earphone plug or charging port, right?
I don't know how it works for sure, but I imagine its just surface tension. The coating doesn't physically close the slot, it coats the outside of the slot with a film that repels water. Water doesn't go into very small places at routine pressure -- the raindrop-size drops you encounter all the time are its least-energy state, the "natural" curvature of water drops. The coating keeps water far enough away so this curvature radius doesn't contact the inside of the slot.
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Prior to studying Computer Science in University, I went to college and studied Electronics Engineering. I worked for an industrial electronic design and manufacturing company for 3 years between one and the other. Most products went into the oilfield. Scada, wellhead controllers, remote sensing equipment, etc. When manufacturing circuit boards 50 at a time, they would put them into a commercial *DISHWASHER* to get all the water soluble solder flux off and wash the board clean. Because chips follow the original Texas Instruments Mach32 procurement process (as outlined by the US Air Force in the 1960's and 1970's), they are hermetically sealed, must past gross leak, and fine leak tests, thermal shock, high altitude testing, centrifuge tests, and other tests, water won't 'leak' into the chips and wreck them. When power is applied, damage can happen. When there is no current, electronics are inert. To keep things 'dry' under power, silicone spray can keep the rest of the electronics from creating short circuits (due to conduction through water, etc.). This was also important in highly corrosive environments (hello petrochemical plant). They also used Hall-effect keyboards and switches to eliminate any chance of an electric arc in hazardous environments (when a seal fails in a methane/ethane/propane plant and you need to press a button to shut off a pump to stop the leak, and pressing the switch blows up the plant you have failed). As stated previously, you can enjoy this new 'wonder technology', or you can get a can of silicone spray. Have fun!
Funny you mention it, I recently saw a plastic-baggie type product designed especially for this purpose: allows full submersion of electronics, and works with capacitive touch screens despite being made of a fairly thick plastic. LokSak
While I suppose the standard zip-loc would work for the purpose, but this looked much more confidence inspiring.
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It would be interesting to see what would happen if the coating was applied to a boat. Would the boat be fouling proof? Also, would it go even faster because it's coated in a hydrophobic substance? Hmmmm...The geek in me wants to get a toy boat, test its performance, then have them coat it then test it again and see if the performance improves by a measurable amount.
I would be equally worried about spilling any Bud Light into my mouth...