hydrophobic

Pee-back time: Anti-Pee Paint Splashes Back at Public Urination

When man piss in wind, wind piss back, a modern Confucius states. In this line, the city of Hamburg ingeniously sought to address its growing public urination problem in the city's busy party center by painting walls with hydrophobic paint. Next time an unsuspecting person wants to take a load off in Hamburg's St. Pauli neighborhood, he might be in for a surprise - it'll splash back at him.

Water-repelling surface makes dew droplets so small, they're practically invisible

The breakthrough could help cool the hotspots of high-performance electronics.

Laser-etching pattern turns any metal into a super-hydrophobic surface

A new generation of water-repellent products could be just ahead after researchers at University of Rochester demonstrated an amazing laser technique that etches tiny micro and nano grooves into a metal surface making it super-hydrophobic.

Water-shedding surfaces could improve global energy production

Even in these modern times, steam condensation is one of the main drivers of electricity production and clean water: It is part of the power cycle that drives 85 percent of all electricity-generating plants and about half of all desalination plants globally, according to the United Nations and International Energy Agency. So improving the efficiency […]

Creating glasses that don't fog up

Creating glasses that don’t fog or freeze up could not only bring a world of comfort to millions of people, but it could also have a myriad of applications in cameras, microscopes, mirrors and refrigerated displays – to name just a few. While there have been many advancements in this field, so far, the main problem […]