Liquid glass: the spray-on scientific revelation | Hacker News Reader

Liquid glass: the spray-on scientific revelation

telegraph.co.uk

24 pointsprat17 comments

The spray, which is harmless to the environment,

The first thing I think when I read something like that is "how many years until they regret saying that?"

It's just silicon dioxide, same as sand; the innovation here is is to liquefy and suspend it so it can form a layer rather than crystallize (looking at the product datasheets, it has a shelf life and is best within 6 months of manufacture - after which, I presume, it begins to crystallize or the SiO2 molecules begin to fall out of solution.

"Just" silicon dioxide? Ever heard of the irreversible lung disease, silicosis? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicosis

It's in solution in water or alcohol and applied by spray and evaporation, not airborne as dry particles. I'd guess this risk is quite manageable. Germany isn't exactly a hotbed of environmental abuse.

I'm not worried about what happens at application, but what happens when it breaks down and comes loose from the surface. The former may be in a controlled environment, but the latter may not.

The press releases mention it's available on the consumer level in Germany. Does anyone know the brand name and/or distributor?

Nanopool, it's in the article. I don't think they have a US distributor. I wrote and inquired about it, if I lern anything interesting I'll post it.

I'm going to be in Germany in the summer, I was curious if anyone knew where to purchase it there.

Nanoscale silicon dioxide (like sand) if inhaled can and does cause diseases such as silicosis and bronchitis. There's also an alleged cancer risk. Biomechanically it might be dangerous in the same way that asthbestos is.

Sounds like a fairy tale? Any experts here want to chime in on whether airborne silicone dioxide is really as harmless and versatile as they claim?

"The spray forms a water-resistant layer, meaning it can be cleaned using only water."

This sentence does not lend the rest of the article much credibility.

There are so many stories in non-technical media that make you question whether or not they're pure fantasy. The only technical area I have advanced knowledge of is software programming, and often when I read media stories where that knowledge is relevant it's really cringe-worthy. I can imagine an engineer at this company reading this and thinking, "well, not quite..."

nice, you sidestepped the Gell-Mann Amnesia Effect

I don't get it. You're spraying a surface with tiny particles of glass, right? So how would they form a cohesive layer, instead of sitting on top like loose sand, to be brushed off (or ground into the surface) by the first thing that touches them? Coating something in actual glass requires melting it and letting it harden into interlocking structures, right?

Sounds like snake oil to me.

I haven't read the article, but going from your description I'd guess the answer is electrostatic forces.

Nah. There are all sorts of ways to suspend glass microparticles and a binder in some kind of solvent that evaporates after spraying, leaving a glass-particle-and-binder layer behind. The physics/chemistry of it are pretty easy (for those so inclined). What's probably hard is making the deposited layer durable and non-toxic. For example, if the glass microparticles turn into aerosolized dust then you probably don't want to do a lot of breathing anywhere nearby; think asbestos and cigarettes.

This sounds like sodium silicate (or a similar silicate salt), a water soluble material that has long been used as a surface sealant. It is widely used to protect concrete surfaces. Chemical toxicity is minimal. Silicosis should not be a problem as long as the material remains reasonably soluble after application -- it will self-dissolve in the body.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_silicate

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