this post was submitted on 23 Aug 2024
81 points (98.8% liked)

Technology

59187 readers
2246 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.

Our Rules

  1. Follow the lemmy.world rules.
  2. Only tech related content.
  3. Be excellent to each another!
  4. Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
  5. Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
  6. Politics threads may be removed.
  7. No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
  8. Only approved bots from the list below, to ask if your bot can be added please contact us.
  9. Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed

Approved Bots

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
81
Morphing spray-on gel gives buildings long-lasting wildfire protection (newatlas.com)
submitted 2 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
12 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

The researchers also say that current fire-resisting gels dry out and become useless about 45 minutes after being applied. With their new material however, because the silica aerogel stays behind until it is washed away, the coating could be applied well in advance of an approaching wildfire while still providing protection when the flames arrive

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [email protected] 21 points 2 months ago (1 children)

When eventually washed off, the aerogel is handily broken down by soil microbes.

I am not going to claim to be an expert on any of this BUT that wording sounds suspiciously like bullshit. Maybe it's not, but it's one of those phrases that sounds like when vitamin companies claim that more B12 has shown to fix whatever ails you. Or "our plastic is environmentally friendly: 100% recyclable, and breaks down into teeny micro-particles over time, and gets absorbed by the sea life like ordinary sand..."

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I am also definitely not coming into this with any expertise, but reading the linked paper about it looks at least somewhat promising to me. The ingredients are silica (sand) and a couple of cellulose derivatives (cellulose being what plants are mostly made of)

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago

Yes exactly:

the cellulose polymers in these systems are plant-derived, biocompatible, and biodegradable