Nice Dry

J. Adam Fenster/University of Rochester

Scientists have come up with the ultimate water-repellent surface. Using a high-powered laser, they etch minute parallel grooves into a metal surface, and it is the nanostructures in these grooves that do the trick. Water drops actually bounce off, as opposed to rolling off, as they do on a Teflon-coated surface. The metal also becomes self-cleaning, as the droplets gather dust before bouncing off. Currently, it takes too long to complete the etching process for it to be used on a larger scale, but the hope is that, one day, the technique will be used to produce airplane wings that don't ice up, for example, or hygienic medical implements (story, video): http://www.livescience.com/49515-water-repellent-material.html