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Spray-on liquid glass is about to revolutionize almost everything

physorg.com

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Re: Spray-on liquid glass is about to revolutionize almost everything

#51

Post by hagy »

jjcm wrote: post #29

What if it flakes off? How structurally stable is it? If a wide variety of things start using it, will it increase the risk of silicosis ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicosis ) when using these products?

Concerns of breathing in this silicate have been popping up a lot in this discussion (especially concerns about silicosis). I’d just like to point out that we’re discussing very small quantities; nano-coatings of ~100nm, only 15-30 molecules high as mentioned in the articles. Wikipedia states that the silicate clusters ascribed to silicosis each have a diameter of ~10 microns; each clusters is 100 times larger than the thickness of this coating. Additionally, the article states that the silicate coating chemically bond to the applied surface. Such silicate bonds only cleave at high temperatures (500 deg C) so the coating won’t evaporate off under ambient conditions.

Re: Spray-on liquid glass is about to revolutionize almost everything

#52

Post by eru »

radicaldreamer wrote: post #9

Yawn... I always see claims like this made about almost every new advance in materials science, but I hardly ever see these products reach the market.

That's probably because the real advances aren't newsworthy.

Who wants to read about a new kind of steel that's slightly harder than the old one?

Re: Spray-on liquid glass is about to revolutionize almost everything

#53

Post by pbhjpbhj »

Tyrant505 wrote: post #22

Indeed, the possibilities of a spray with these properties are infinite. In spirit of hn, I imagine coating my mobo/cpu/gpu for safe and easy, fan-less, liquid cooling! Fill it up and maybe throw a jellyfish in there for good measure...

>I imagine coating my mobo/cpu/gpu for safe and easy, fan-less, liquid cooling!

Isn't glass a thermal insulator? I guess a thin layer wouldn't create too great a temperature gradient. Sounds a nice idea. Of course you could do this now with a non-ionic liquid (oil?) but I don't fancy your jellyfishes chances.

Re: Spray-on liquid glass is about to revolutionize almost everything

#54

Post by NyxWulf »

radicaldreamer wrote: post #9

Yawn... I always see claims like this made about almost every new advance in materials science, but I hardly ever see these products reach the market.

Not only is this already a product, it's already on sale in Germany and other countries in europe.

http://www.nanopool.biz/

Product demonstration: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEgfdr7GKow

I don't know why it isn't for sale in the US at this point. But this is not vapor-ware.

Re: Spray-on liquid glass is about to revolutionize almost everything

#55

Post by juiceandjuice »

yummyfajitas wrote: post #45
juiceandjuice wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Extremely rare compared to what? Compared to the entire population of the United States? Maybe. Compared to the population of those directly and continuously exposed? Not so much. We don't use that much asbestos anymore for a reason, and it's not because we found something better to replace it. I'm not advocating we abandon nanomaterial research by any means. I'm hoping that it's widespread use and adoption doesn't o…

Extremely rare compared to what? Compared to the entire population of the United States? Compared to other health threats in the US. Before the 60's and 70's, Asbestosis was a minor concern except for people with occupational exposure (e.g. asbestos miners). Much bigger and more pressing issues were polio, malaria, measles, and the like. Once we became rich and healthy enough to care about it, we dealt with it. It wa…

Yes, the dangers of Asbestos were limited to people exposed to asbestos. It was an occupational hazard, and the uses of asbestos were largely commercial and industrial in nature.

As such, Asbestos was never directly marketed to consumers. Asbestos exposure was also limited because it's relatively narrow scope of usefulness. Asbestos was never a cultural phenomenon.

The extremely wide range of usefulness of nanotech means that it will show up in everything everywhere. Of specific concern should be anything designed to be airborne or directly applied directly on somebody. The product in question directly matches that description. Furthermore, this product is aimed directly at consumers, and the article even mentions how it is about to "revolutionize everything", alluding to widespread adoption and use.

I'd hate for something like this to be plastered over keyboards, door knobs, floors and countertops, sunglasses, shoes, phones, surgical equipment, dishes and silverware, headphones, cosmetics, etc... Those are the targets for something like this. You know, things you touch and use every day.

Re: Spray-on liquid glass is about to revolutionize almost everything

#57

Post by dools »

qq66 wrote: post #21

Whenever they claim that something will revolutionize everything, it ends up in disappointment. The things that actually do revolutionize everything are usually pooh-poohed at the beginning ("Another search engine?")

Remember when Dean Kamen claimed that the Segway would change the way we built cities? Most hilarious product launch ever.

Re: Spray-on liquid glass is about to revolutionize almost everything

#59

Post by KaeseEs »

bergie wrote: post #18
ryanwaggoner wrote: post #2

This seems like the kind of report they'd show as a flashback in a post-apocalyptic film :)

Asbestos was also a great idea once :-)

It still is, so long as it's sequestered such that the fibers don't become airborne. Asbestos removal projects done in eg. municipal buildings are often misguided.
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