We ’ve all been there : You put your hand on a metal surface like a terrace , lantern slide or even a smartphone on a brilliantly sunny Clarence Day , only to find that it ’s too spicy to touch . An challenging man of research , though , has found a way to barricade alloy from heating up like this in sunlight .
A team from the John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory ( JHUAPL ) developed aglass - based paintthat contemplate all sunshine , keeping metallic surfaces relatively cool . Glass , made out of silica , is very brittle by itself , so researcher Jason Benkoski from JHUAPL and his team created an inorganic translation of potassium silicate that dry out when it is sprayed on a surface . The research was represent on Sunday , August 16 , at a meeting of theAmerican Chemical Society(ACS ) in Boston .
To create the reflective nebulizer , plasticizers , gelling agents and water - insoluble substances were added to the silicate . This created a thick , water - resistive foam coating that not only sticks to metal such as aluminum , but also ruminate sunlight . The inorganic compound is apparently stable enough to remain effective for hundreds of year , according to Benkoski . It can also expand and contract without cracking . What ’s more , the materials needed to make it are not only abundant , but inexpensive too .
Any surface surface with the paint will remain at melodic phrase temperature , or even slightly cooler , as the paint does n’t absorb any of the Sun ’s rays . This means that thing like terrace and slides could be coated in the spray and sustain at a safe temperature . In summation , once the sprayer is applied , it can not be removed ; it will not even dissolve in H2O , so it is impervious to rainfall .
The video above explains how the paint was made , and how it run . ACS / JHUAPL .
“ Most pigment you utilize on your car or sign of the zodiac are based on polymers , which degrade in the ultraviolet light rays of the Sun , ” Benkoski enounce in astatement . “ So over time you ’ll havechalkingand yellow . Polymers also be given to give off fickle organic chemical compound , which can harm the environment . That ’s why I want to move aside from traditional polymer coatings to inorganic glass I . ”
The team was part - funded by the USOffice of Naval Researchto build up the paint for use on ship , but it has many other applications admit benches and even roofs . “ You might want to paint something like this on your ceiling to keep heat out and lower your atmosphere conditioning nib in the summertime , ” sum up Benkoski .
The squad hopes to start athletic field testing the blusher in about two years .
