Scientists Develop Super-Slippery Material 298
Hugh Pickens writes writes "Anyone who is partial to ketchup with their food will know how difficult it is to get the final dregs from the bottle but now the Telegraph reports that scientists have created one of the most slippery materials ever that promises to result in new self-cleaning surfaces that never get dirty, could be used to coat the inside of bottles and jars to help consumers get all of the food inside, or in the energy industry for making oil flow more efficiently through pipes. Professor Joanna Aizenberg, a materials scientists at Harvard University, was inspired by the carnivorous Nepenthes pitcher plants, which has a highly slippery surface at the top of its flute-shaped leaves so that insects tumble down into the digestive juices contained inside. The new material, known as a Slippery Liquid Infused Porous Surface or SLIPS boasts a rare trait called "omniphobicity", which means it can repel both water and oily materials. "If we used substance like ours to coat the inside of bottles, it would be possible to get it all out," says Aizenberg. "The only problem may be that the sauce may come out a little too easily on to their food.""
Solar Panels??? (Score:5, Interesting)
If it has good UV stability and doesn't block to much sun light; it would be great for use on solar panels that otherwise need to be cleaned in order achieve peak performance.
Simpler approach (Score:4, Interesting)
For ketchup, just put the bottle upside down. Gravity will place all the ketchup at the tip of the bottle. For bottles with nozzles, simply unscrew the top to get the very last spoonful.
Peanut butter on the other hand is more challenging. Natural peanut butter tends to flow easier so is not as much of a problem. But the generic peanut butter is quite sticky.
Re:There was a movie about this (Score:3, Interesting)
Keynesian economics presented in film.
Nice. I'll have to look for it.
Re:Not for cooking sadly (Score:2, Interesting)
What about toilets, showers, sinks...
Re:Contraceptives? (Score:4, Interesting)
Environmental impact (Score:4, Interesting)
Specifically, one wonders about the environmental impact--how hard must this stuff be *to clean* when it gets stuck on something, for example? If we put it on a hundred million bottles a year, how will that impact the environment?
Frank Herbert fixed it for you (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Toothpaste is where it's at (Score:3, Interesting)
Get a pack of these things. [amazon.com] I believe that I found mine at home and garden show--and it's just a damned nice little invention.