Superhydrophobic: "Chinese Scientists Invent 'Floatiest' Material On Earth..."

I know two people who will kill me for putting this on the blog. From Gizmodo:

"... Chinese scientists applied a similar coating to a tiny copper mesh boat, and suddenly it could hold three times the weight.

It's actually crazy: The superhydrophobic coating—what the scientists are casually calling "the cooperative effect of hierarchical micro/nanostructures and a low-surface-energy wax coating"—creates a cushion of air around the boat (or the bug's leg), putting an invisible bubble between it and the water The boat is literally floating on air, while the water tries to touch it but can't. What's creepy is that the coated boats sink immediately when immersed in organic liquids like ethanol and acetone. ..."

[Link]

Now, I found one material that is impossible to get wet even when submerged for 2 months but if I mix it with this creepy stuff, I just may be able to do a 200 'fly someday.

As you know, my butterfly is lousy but with Christmas coming up, I will pretend I didn't see this $1,800 'Lunocet Monofin'

From Gizmodo: "... Because while Phelps is able to swim at an inhuman 5 miles per hour, the average swimmer using the carbon fiber Lunocet will routinely hit about 8mph. Is it too late for us to book our tickets to Beijing?

The Lunocet weighs about 2.5lbs out of the water, but in the water it's positively buoyant. Constructed from silicon wrapped in carbon fiber with a titanium footplate, the system gives you the same power on a downstroke as an upstroke. Coupled with a pair of strong legs the monofin could theoretically generate enough power to drive a human completely out of the water—yes, real life dolphin acrobatics at last. ..."

I would pay $50 to see what it feels like to swim as faster than Michael Phelps in one of those gizmos! So if if any of you win the lotto this weekend, HOOK ME UP!

Gizmodo [Link] - Lunocet website videos: [Link]

Swim 'gadgets from 'Gizmodo'

Gizmodo is a trendy, gadget, website that presents the latest word in chrome and plastic. Sometimes some swimming stuff sneaks in so so I post it here: [Link]