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Spray-on liquid glass is about to revolutionize almost everything
PhysOrg ^ | 2/2/10 | Lin Edwards

Posted on 02/02/2010 7:40:24 PM PST by LibWhacker

(PhysOrg.com) -- Spray-on liquid glass is transparent, non-toxic, and can protect virtually any surface against almost any damage from hazards such as water, UV radiation, dirt, heat, and bacterial infections. The coating is also flexible and breathable, which makes it suitable for use on an enormous array of products.

The liquid glass spray (technically termed “SiO2 ultra-thin layering”) consists of almost pure silicon dioxide (silica, the normal compound in glass) extracted from quartz sand. Water or ethanol is added, depending on the type of surface to be coated. There are no additives, and the nano-scale glass coating bonds to the surface because of the quantum forces involved. According to the manufacturers, liquid glass has a long-lasting antibacterial effect because microbes landing on the surface cannot divide or replicate easily.

Liquid glass was invented in Turkey and the patent is held by Nanopool, a family-owned German company. Research on the product was carried out at the Saarbrücken Institute for New Materials. Nanopool is already in negotiations in the UK with a number of companies and with the National Health Service, with a view to its widespread adoption.

The liquid glass spray produces a water-resistant coating only around 100 nanometers (15-30 molecules) thick. On this nanoscale the glass is highly flexible and breathable. The coating is environmentally harmless and non-toxic, and easy to clean using only water or a simple wipe with a damp cloth. It repels bacteria, water and dirt, and resists heat, UV light and even acids. UK project manager with Nanopool, Neil McClelland, said soon almost every product you purchase will be coated with liquid glass.

Food processing companies in Germany have already carried out trials of the spray, and found sterile surfaces that usually needed to be cleaned with strong bleach to keep them sterile needed only a hot water rinse if they were coated with liquid glass. The levels of sterility were higher for the glass-coated surfaces, and the surfaces remained sterile for months.

Other organizations, such as a train company and a hotel chain in the UK, and a hamburger chain in Germany, are also testing liquid glass for a wide range of uses. A year-long trial of the spray in a Lancashire hospital also produced “very promising” results for a range of applications including coatings for equipment, medical implants, catheters, sutures and bandages. The war graves association in the UK is investigating using the spray to treat stone monuments and grave stones, since trials have shown the coating protects against weathering and graffiti. Trials in Turkey are testing the product on monuments such as the Ataturk Mausoleum in Ankara.

The liquid glass coating is breathable, which means it can be used on plants and seeds. Trials in vineyards have found spraying vines increases their resistance to fungal diseases, while other tests have shown sprayed seeds germinate and grow faster than untreated seeds, and coated wood is not attacked by termites. Other vineyard applications include coating corks with liquid glass to prevent “corking” and contamination of wine. The spray cannot be seen by the naked eye, which means it could also be used to treat clothing and other materials to make them stain-resistant. McClelland said you can “pour a bottle of wine over an expensive silk shirt and it will come right off”.

In the home, spray-on glass would eliminate the need for scrubbing and make most cleaning products obsolete. Since it is available in both water-based and alcohol-based solutions, it can be used in the oven, in bathrooms, tiles, sinks, and almost every other surface in the home, and one spray is said to last a year.

Liquid glass spray is perhaps the most important nanotechnology product to emerge to date. It will be available in DIY stores in Britain soon, with prices starting at around £5 ($8 US). Other outlets, such as many supermarkets, may be unwilling to stock the products because they make enormous profits from cleaning products that need to be replaced regularly, and liquid glass would make virtually all of them obsolete.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Science
KEYWORDS: glass; invention; liquid; nanotechnology; spray
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To: doug from upland

I seem to remember you work (worked?) for a glass company...?


81 posted on 02/02/2010 11:32:12 PM PST by nutmeg (Rush Limbaugh & Sarah Palin agree: NO third parties! Take back the GOP)
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To: 21twelve

A whole building that can change colors and stuff. That would be cool.


82 posted on 02/02/2010 11:36:11 PM PST by GeronL (http://tyrannysentinel.blogspot.com)
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To: hinckley buzzard
I've used liquid glass for over 30 years...
83 posted on 02/03/2010 1:00:36 AM PST by Neidermeyer
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To: LibWhacker; Quix

Interesting, thanks.


84 posted on 02/03/2010 1:26:30 AM PST by Joya (Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior, have mercy on me, a sinner!)
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To: puppypusher
"I wonder if this liquid glass will fill in gouges in windshield caused by sand and gravel."

That would probably screw up the optical purity of the glass because it would be thicker in some places (where the pits are) then others.

Perhaps if it were applied on a new windshield it could help prevent pitting.

85 posted on 02/03/2010 3:08:01 AM PST by 101voodoo
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To: Neidermeyer

I’ve been using Zaino products the past couple of years - simply amazing stuff!


86 posted on 02/03/2010 3:12:11 AM PST by newfreep (Palin/DeMint 2012 - Bolton: Secy of State)
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To: Grizzled Bear

His booze, not mine.


87 posted on 02/03/2010 5:24:09 AM PST by conservativeharleyguy (Democrats: Over 60 million fooled daily!)
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To: Quix
Keeps cars looking new!


Frowning takes 68 muscles.
Smiling takes 6.
Pulling this trigger takes 2.
I'm lazy.

88 posted on 02/03/2010 5:47:20 AM PST by The Comedian (Evil can only succeed if good men don't point at it and laugh.)
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To: LibWhacker
Nancy Pelosi's face has been a beta-test site for awhile now.


89 posted on 02/03/2010 5:50:42 AM PST by paulycy (Demand Constitutionality.)
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To: The Comedian; Joya

Hmmmm thanks.


90 posted on 02/03/2010 7:46:52 AM PST by Quix (POL Ldrs quotes fm1900 TRAITORS http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/2130557/posts?page=81#81)
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To: LibWhacker

Fascinating!


91 posted on 02/03/2010 7:55:31 AM PST by brytlea (Jesus loves me, this I know.)
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To: txhurl

Somehow that sounds painful...


92 posted on 02/03/2010 7:59:35 AM PST by Alamo-Girl
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To: krb

Thank you, that was very interesting. I often use glass in my kiln, and I’m always interested in learning more about it!


93 posted on 02/03/2010 8:00:54 AM PST by brytlea (Jesus loves me, this I know.)
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To: MHGinTN

Oh man, I once accidentally sprayed hairspray right into my eye. It broke into little shards like glass! I would keep this material away from my eyes too.


94 posted on 02/03/2010 8:04:24 AM PST by brytlea (Jesus loves me, this I know.)
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To: smokingfrog

Me too, I can think of some cool applications!


95 posted on 02/03/2010 8:06:11 AM PST by brytlea (Jesus loves me, this I know.)
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To: krb

Palomar Observatory lenses


96 posted on 02/03/2010 8:17:12 AM PST by MHGinTN (Obots, believing they cannot be deceived, it is impossible to convince them when they are deceived.)
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To: decimon; Las Vegas Dave; ShadowAce; AdmSmith; Berosus; bigheadfred; Convert from ECUSA; dervish; ...
The liquid glass spray (technically termed "SiO2 ultra-thin layering") consists of almost pure silicon dioxide (silica, the normal compound in glass) extracted from quartz sand. Water or ethanol is added, depending on the type of surface to be coated. There are no additives, and the nano-scale glass coating bonds to the surface because of the quantum forces involved. According to the manufacturers, liquid glass has a long-lasting antibacterial effect because microbes landing on the surface cannot divide or replicate easily.
Or maybe they're captivated by their own image, like the mythical Narcissus. ;') Thanks LibWhacker.
97 posted on 02/03/2010 4:13:23 PM PST by SunkenCiv (Happy New Year! Freedom is Priceless.)
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To: krb
Glass is interesting. As an amorphous solid, it has no crystalline structure to lock the atoms in place. The base material, silicon dioxide (quartz) does have a crystal structure, but the stuff added to it to make glass prevents crystal formation. That makes it plastic at relatively low temperatures. It's essentially a solid at room temps and has no viscosity, but the temps that it starts flowing at vary wildly, depending on the dopants. Pretty cool stuff.

However, my BS meter is going off at the idea of a water- or alcohol "soluable glass".

98 posted on 02/06/2010 11:15:33 PM PST by VanShuyten ("a shadow...draped nobly in the folds of a gorgeous eloquence.")
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To: LibWhacker
soon almost every product you purchase will be coated with liquid glass.

Can't wait until toddlers chew on them and breathe in and swallow glass fibers. "Binder & Binder" plese pick up the white courtesy phone.

99 posted on 02/06/2010 11:38:12 PM PST by montag813
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