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Scientists Create Permanently Slick Surface So Ketchup Won't Stay In Bottle
HughPickens.com writes Much of what we buy never makes it out of the container and is instead thrown away — up to a quarter of skin lotion, 16 percent of laundry detergent and 15 percent of condiments like mustard and ketchup. Now Kenneth Chang reports at the NYT that scientists have just solved one of life's little problems — how to get that last little bit of ketchup (or glue) out of a bottle. Using a coating that makes the inside of the bottle permanently wet and slippery, glue quickly slides to the nozzle or back down to the bottom. The technology could have major environmental payoffs by reducing waste. Superhydrophobic surfaces work similar to air hockey tables. Tiny peaks and valleys on the surface create a thin layer of air between the liquid and the coating. The air decreases friction, so the liquid almost levitates above the surface, just like the hockey puck floats above the table. LiquiGlide's approach is similar, but it uses a liquid lubricant, not a gas. "What could be a solution that provides sort of universal slipperiness?" says Dr. Varanasi. "The idea we had was, Why not think about trapping a liquid in these features?" Dr. Varanasi and Mr. Smith worked out a theory to predict interactions among the surface, the lubricant and air. Essentially, the lubricant binds more strongly to the textured surface than to the liquid, and that allows the liquid to slide on a layer of lubricant instead of being pinned against the surface, and the textured surface keeps the lubricant from slipping out. "We're not defying physics, but effectively, we are," says Smith.
I've seen these sorts of videos for at least 5 years now. Where are the commercial products?
We just mixed a little vinegar in to get the last of the bottle and slop it on our french fries.
"Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
I thought they did this years ago.
https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
We already knew it existed, as reported on Slashdot back in May of 2012:
http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/05/23/2240213/mit-creates-superhydrophobic-condiment-bottles
The news here is that it's finally being commercialized.
So, if you could do this on the outside of condoms you'd put Wet and Astroglide out of business. ;-)
Introducing, everslide ... our slipperiest condoms evar.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
First, everything is a chemical.
But more importantly, there is no such thing as superfluous genitalia.
https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
We don't need more chemicals in our packaged food products.
Brace yourself, but most people who consume packaged food products have little concern over any chemicals in them.
Does it cause cancer in California?
the coatings are derived from edible materials
Allegedly so are hotdogs and white bread.
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
The corollary to this is most people who consume packges chemicals have very little concern if there is any actual food products in them.
I recently saw "imitation American-style cheese food slices". Now, "American" "cheese" isn't legally cheese in most of the world. So what the fsck is imitation artificial cheese?
I'm not even sure it had any dairy in it.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
I know it may not seem like much, but multiply it by millions of bottles sold and it adds up to a hefty hit on their bottom line.
You are completely correct. In the past Heinz has even been caught cheating by underfilling their ketchup bottles.
"16 percent of laundry detergent"
If you're wasting that much laundry detergent you're doing something very wrong. I use liquid and when the bottle runs dry I take a few cupfuls of water out of the washer and put it in the bottle, give it a few shakes and then dump it straight into the wash. I doubt more than 0.1% manages to stick to crevices in the pour spout. Even if you didn't do that I have a hard time believing that more than 3% sticks to the sides of the bottle. With your average bottle 16% is more than 5 loads worth of detergent still in the bottle.