Researchers from MIT have developed a new type of glass developed thanks to a nano-structured surface some of the properties got that normal glass doesn’t have. The material is water and dirt repellent and has reduced reflection.
The improved glass of a group of scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology by themselves, “fog-free glass’, because it does not covers. Water droplets roll thanks to a nanocoating on the glass of the material and also dirt would not be able to attach on the material. It would also be incident light will be almost fully transmitted, without the usual reflections. Especially for an increased efficiency of solar panels, that would be a interesting feature.
The nano-patterns on the glass forming cone-shaped protrusions that are approximately 200nm in diameter and approximately one micron high. The MIT’ers are produced the nano-structures using halfgeleidertechnieken, in which a cross hatch with fotoresist on the glass was applied and the layers of glass in stages were removed. Although this technique is patented, the researchers suggest structures in the future, in semi-fluid glass to print.
If this is the cost of production is sufficiently decreased, it would be the glass in a wide range of applications can be used. So would the solar panels can be used which are hardly cleaned need to be and a increased efficiency. Also, as touch screens on tablets or smartphones would be the glass may serve as a moisture and dirt repellent materials, and even as a car window would be a future ahead.
