Thoraiya DyerBoats may soon run more mph on less gas
December 22nd 2006 12:13
by Marie N.
In Canada (and many areas of the United States) where the biggest fishing lakes are, lots of boaters may be able to benefit from the "hull bubbles" patent, one of the latest inventions brought about by nanotechnology.
"The hull of a boat is first covered with a smooth, tough material such as borosilicate glass. A cutter made of diamond is then used to machine a pattern of grooves and sharp ridges, a few millimetres deep, across the material. Finally, the walls of these grooves are etched with nanometre-sized pits using acid, and then coated with a protective coating of hydrophobic trichlorosilane.
As the patterned hull moves through the water, small bubbles of air become trapped in the nanoscale grooves, providing a low friction cushion, akin to a hovercraft effect."
The new patent not only lets boats and submarines run faster, they also consume less fuel.
(Report from the US Department of Energy by researchers at UT-Battelle in Tennessee, US.)
via:
New Scientist
In Canada (and many areas of the United States) where the biggest fishing lakes are, lots of boaters may be able to benefit from the "hull bubbles" patent, one of the latest inventions brought about by nanotechnology.
"The hull of a boat is first covered with a smooth, tough material such as borosilicate glass. A cutter made of diamond is then used to machine a pattern of grooves and sharp ridges, a few millimetres deep, across the material. Finally, the walls of these grooves are etched with nanometre-sized pits using acid, and then coated with a protective coating of hydrophobic trichlorosilane.
As the patterned hull moves through the water, small bubbles of air become trapped in the nanoscale grooves, providing a low friction cushion, akin to a hovercraft effect."
The new patent not only lets boats and submarines run faster, they also consume less fuel.
(Report from the US Department of Energy by researchers at UT-Battelle in Tennessee, US.)
via:
New Scientist
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