by Playfuls Staff |
22nd December 2006
A lacquer containing carbon nanotubes could clear car windows of ice or turn floors into radiators, researchers [more] from Germany said.
The lacquer could be applied to any surface needing heat, said researchers from Fraunhofer Technology Development Group in Stuttgart, Germany.
The lacquer has a liquid base with a mixture of nanotubes that conduct electricity, NewScientist.com said. The nanotubes form a conducting network in the lacquer as it dries. It is heated by passing a current through the network. Adding more nanotubes to the lacquer makes it opaque while increasing the heat generated by the material.
When conducting their tests, the researchers connected the coating to a 12-volt battery-like power supply. They said they could clear ice from a plastic sheet about the size of a paperback novel in about two minutes.
"We can heat up the whole of any surface with a transparent coating," researcher Dominik Nemec said.
Nemec said the team hopes the technology will replace the built-in wire filament heaters in car windows.
"If a filament is broken the whole heater won't work," he said. "This new film can have gaps -- by accident or design -- and still work."
© 2006 UPI
