New hydrophobic metal repels water amazingly [video]

Have you heard of hydrophobic materials? These are elements that can simply repel any liquid that tries to contact it; This in turn allows an object covered by this material (such as a cell phone) to remain perfectly dry even when in contact with water.

This technology is not new, in fact - sprays that protect your objects from water have been around for some time. But in most cases they have their weaknesses: the protective layers eventually wear out over time, and not all products are as effective at repelling liquids.

This is exactly why a project by the University of Rochester promises to be a breakthrough for this technology. Their method, in short, turns metals into hydrophobic surfaces like no other material: the result is so absurd that water bounces when it touches metal, as the videos of matter show, and moves away from the surface with little or no inclination. .

The ultimate protection against water

Just as striking is the fact that this material is not the result of a special coating on the metal, but of nanostructures minted on the surface of the material with the help of lasers. So we have not only the most efficient hydrophobic protection ever, but one that will never wear out like the others.

Needless to say, something like this has many uses. Basically, just imagine that any metal surface can become “immune” to water and other liquids, which means that we can protect much of our electronics, including mobile phones, tablets and computers, in this way.

Another interesting use is in airplane fuselage, as this would protect vehicles from freezing by water. There are even projects for a 100% efficient water collection and recycling system, made for countries suffering from water scarcity.

With so many possibilities, we can only hope that the project goes from a simple project and reaches the market and the devices we use on a daily basis.

Via TecMundo