For Science!

[Hanuman]

Very interesting, so is it possible that we could make something like a gecko carbon nanotube forest in spray form in the future? Kind of like, hang anything flat on anything else flat without adhesives spray?

[Kyanbu The Legend]

Cool.

It would be a lot better then glue in some cases.

[Sithdarth]

We've already made pretty decent Gecko tape. A spray wouldn't work because once you spray it on a surface the film conforms to that surface and loses its flexibility. The new coated surface will act just like the old one in terms of roughness. Now if you could get a spray coating that would have tiny hairs you'd be on to something but I don't think its possible. Gecko tape is awesome though.

[Hanuman]

The best thing about Gecko Tape is that Shadowrun 4.0 has it in the rules, and it was released AFTER Shadowrun.

Well, couldn't we use a magnetic field to stack them all towards a central force while still adhering, then once the spray hardens it stays that way? It would be difficult to create a residential or even commercial model, but industrial?

I mean, like, can we coat handrails, seatbelts, ect in something like carbon nanotubes but develop a mass production method that bonds to any surface in an assembly line?

[Geminex]

Nah, what we do is produce lots of spray, release it into the atmosphere and let it coat everything. Then we find out it's flammable.

[Mike McC]

Ah, nanochemistry. So much interesting stuff happens with it. I wish I took the lecture/lab when it was offered last year.

Originally Posted by Mauve Mage

The whole "lasts one year" thing intrigures me. What happens to it as time passes? Does it chip away over time? Does it weaken and gain imperfections or something? If that's the case, woud it really be a good idea to use this stuff, as they suggest, in an oven or on other surfaces that come in contact with food?

It'd be no more harmful than if you ate some sand. This is just Silicon Dioxide (sand, glass) on the nanoscale (where it can form different crystalline structures and has some different properties).

Also, yeah, Sith is dead-on about Van Der Waals. You come to know it well as a Chem major.

Originally Posted by Lev

Very interesting, so is it possible that we could make something like a gecko carbon nanotube forest in spray form in the future? Kind of like, hang anything flat on anything else flat without adhesives spray?

As Sith said, there's already some work been put into it. The main problem with creating true 'gecko feet', however, is that the nanostructures we produce are not the best self-cleaning. So, they loose efficiency and degrade with use as more particulates get caught in the nanostructures. They are preforming research on this problem, though.

[Hanuman]

Originally Posted by Mike McC

Also, yeah, Sith is dead-on about Van Der Waals. You come to know it well as a Chem major.As Sith said, there's already some work been put into it. The main problem with creating true 'gecko feet', however, is that the nanostructures we produce are not the best self-cleaning. So, they loose efficiency and degrade with use as more particulates get caught in the nanostructures. They are preforming research on this problem, though.

Very insightful! Thanks!

[Arhra]

You know, with a little work we could use this to ensure everything in the future is chrome!

Although I suppose you'd be have to make sure to reapply it regularly. Imagine it wearing through in places - that would look tacky.

Very interesting discovery. If it can live up to even a tenth of what they're claiming it's capable of, it will still be pretty spectauclar.