Waterproof clothes and windows - level 3
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The British public knows well that there is nothing more annoying than being caught out unprepared by the weather.
They hold the future of waterproofing clothes, but how does it work?
“Well, so it is similar to the coating that you have on your waterproof jacket. So instead of the water sticking to the surface, you see that it bounces off and rolls off really easily.”
The bouncing effect is caused by water-repellent nanoparticles of titanium dioxide, the same chemical which is used in house paint. For the first time ever, the coating has been sprayed onto boots and a jacket. Only one way to see if it works, using slightly muddy water for full effect.
It really works, but what is the scope for the future?
“As a major challenge is to make these coatings more robust, and so once we do that, we can start to use these coatings in buildings, windows, so that when it rains, the raindrops won’t take off any dust or particles off the glass or the building itself.”
So self-cleaning windows and no more window cleaning. Surely, no one will be repelled by that idea!
Difficult words: annoying (irritating, unpleasant), coating (a layer of something), particles (small parts), bounce (to jump), scope (the possibility), robust (strong), particles (a small part of something), be repelled (if you are repelled by something, you do not like it).