Researchers at MIT have developed a new surface texture that, when applied to glass, produces a kind of glass that removes reflections, is free of glare, doesn’t fog, and has a surface that causes water droplets to bounce off like rubber balls, as pictured to the left and featured in a video below.
The features of the glass are the result of a pattern on the surface, which the MIT team applied to the surface via special etching and coating techniques. The pattern, made of nanoscale cones with a base width of 200 nanometers, is created by coating the glass with thin layers that include a photoresist layer, then the new layer is overlain with a grid that acts as a guide for the etching, which comes next and produces the aforementioned conical shapes.
Though the researchers say that further testing is required to show just how tough the new glass can be over prolonged exposure to practical application, the hope is that this technique can be applied to glass we encounter in our everyday products, such as mobile devices, cameras, and car windows. Personally, I’d like a shower mirror that is actually anti-fog like they always claim to be but never are. That is, assuming the cost of production can be lowered to a consumer level.
(via MIT News)
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