Inventor spurns burns with red-hot invention (cool!)

BayToday.ca ^ | Saturday, October 04, 2003 | Phil Novak

[Doctor Stochastic]

Am I the only one thinking we're kinda being had here?

No. You just posted first.

[techcor]

I think the stuff was called "starlight". There was one scene in which a raw egg was coated with the stuff and then a blow torch was applied. The egg stayed raw. But some researchers were less than impressed with it and it never seemed to pan out.

[Johnny Gage]

This is cool. I'm already interested in it.

This would make a good lining material for my blacksmith forges.

[kingu]

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing -- If I remember right, some housewife developed the paste, it was all over the news a few years ago. I wonder if she sold the formula, or what happened...

The demonstration I'd really like to see is him covering a sheet of paper with the paste, torching it, then rinising off the paste to show the paper is fine.

[chimera]

Hurtubise has invented a physics-defying substance...

No such thing. Nothing can defy the laws of physics. If this thing works as advertised, it will be because of the laws of physics, not in spite of them.

...called fire paste, which he claims eliminates the cross-transfer of heat and prevents anything coated in the substance from burning up.

Oops. Beware, attempted use of buzz-words ahead. Cross-transfer of heat? Why not just plain old heat transfer? What's with the "cross" stuff? Turgidity is not a virtue.

Still, I wouldn't want to use it on the shuttle or any spacecraft TPS, unless it was shown to be more rugged than being capable of simply washing off. You might have more than your share of accidents if that stuff washed off during powered flight (passing through moist cloud cover, for example) or during re-entry. If NASA wants to keep the shuttle fleet viable, they can't afford to lose anymore. They were deisgned for a 100-flight useful life and the two that we've lost made it to 25% or less of that projected lifetime. The others are going to have to hang in there if we're going to meet expectations.

[Salgak]

To quote Commander Montgomery Scott:

Ye kenna change the laws 'o physics. . . .

But you CAN occaisionally find a loophole. From the description, this stuff, whatever it is, is nearly impermiable to heat. There's probably a good reason for it in materials science, but we'd need to know what the stuff is made of, and any special procedures for manufacture. . .

[dljordan]

I used the same stuff when making knives. When I soldered on a finger guard I would smear this paste around the blade to keep it from losing it's temper.

[Ichneumon]

He needs another formula that's not water soluable, so that it can really be used outside. Imagine coating the belly of the space shuttle with this stuff and then having a Florida downpour. Ooops, got to re-coat before we can take off. In the dampness of Florida, it might not even be much of a coating.

And the Shuttle needs more than just heat-resistance -- if this stuff couldn't withstand the huge air pressures encountered during re-entry, it'd just blow right off the Shuttle and leave it vulnerable.

[BMiles2112]

The primary method of heat transfer in non-metals is through the molecular bonds. Two things that can decrease thermal conductivity are:
1) Lots of interfaces between different materials, (e.g. a material with lots of porosity).
2)Weak molecular bonds, (which would help explain why its water soluble). See, for example, the difference in thermal conductivity between diamond and graphite. It's 10-100 times higher, even though they're both made of pure Carbon.
I'm guessing it's more of a case of getting really lucky finding a material with lots of interfaces, porosity, etc. and very weak molecular bonds.

[Libertarianize the GOP]

ping

[tm22721]

Sure will help with the FR flame wars.

BUMP

[chimera]

And not just during re-entry. Dynamic pressures are quite high during ascent. If NASA doesn't solve the debris issue during powered flight then there could be chunks of foam and other things gouging out swaths of this stuff, just like it did the tiles.

OTOH, this material might be a winner for replacement of asbestos coatings on surfaces and structural members of buildings. These days, thermal-resistant steel beams in skyscrapers might not be a bad investment to make.

[AngryJawa]

Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball.

Absolutely classic! Right up there with "The Amazin' Lazer".

[RightWhale]

a good lining material for my blacksmith forges

It's probably too soft to last. You're stuck with your silica bricks or fire clay or whatever is in there now.

[basil]

I'm still around-blowing and going--LOL! Hope all is well with you.

[Consort]

But will it prevent Spontaneous Human Combustion?

[bjcnr]

Law of physics? last time I remember laws where being broken in my hometown all the time! don't apply yourself to the limitation of a law you must quit before you even start. congratulations Troy, humidity is your only problem.

[RadioAstronomer]

Wondering what your take is on this?

[RadioAstronomer]

I think we are being had here as well. But wanted a separate opinion.

[Physicist]

Should be simple to test. Have the inventor coat his hand and arm with it, and retrieve a pebble from the bottom of a boiling cauldron.