If You Hate Washing Pans, You'll Love This News
There are a few activities everyone enjoys after dinner: A lavender-scented bubble bath, a glass of pinot and an hour of guilty pleasure TV (hello, Housewives). But what they don't enjoy? Washing pans that are covered in grease and hard-to-clean food. Good thing a group of European scientists are looking to eliminate this evening chore once and for all with a self-cleaning metal material.
The leader of the research project, Luca Romoli, a professor at the University of Parma, said the team designed a criss-cross pattern produced by lasers to wash away any dirt or grime. He told Phys.org they were inspired by how lotus leaves keep themselves clean: "Their jagged, rough surfaces enable water to stay as spherical droplets by preventing spreading," he says. As a result, bacteria doesn't get a chance to stick, which is the effect they want to recreate on metal.
For now, the scientists say their goal is to initially use these surfaces in the food production industry to increase efficiency and productivity, as well as reduce energy consumption. Eventually, it's possible the material could be used for other items, like medical cutting tools, dishwashers and, most importantly, saucepans.
Currently, there are prototypes of self-cleaning dinnerware, but this the first self-cleaning metal.
Carolyn Forte, director of the Cleaning Lab in the Good Housekeeping Institute says while this technology is in it's early stages, it's certainly interesting: "It may one day have applications for consumer household products, but I think that's still a bit in the future," she says. "I applaud the idea of adapting a mechanism found in nature to this use."
Us too. After all, can you imagine just how incredible it'd feel to skip the sink and soap after using a saucepan for dinner? Sigh.
[h/t Sci News]
