Non-Stick Windshields
By Michael Seaforth
Am I the only one who hates de-icing car windshields the hard way on a cold winter morning? Well, doing this could eventually become a thing of the past with the introduction of a new type of glass to which ice will not stick. Using technology developed by Dr. Victor Petrenko of Dartmouth College, Torvec Inc. plans to manufacture both new and aftermarket windshields which will include a special polymer that will give the glass its special non-stick properties. Ice is prevented from sticking to the windshield by giving it a charge of the same polarity as that on the ice. Since similar charges repel each other, the ice does not stick to the windshield.

Torvec Inc. also plans to use this technology to produce tires that stick to ice. By passing a small current through the tire to charge its surface, they hope to create a thin layer of ice with a charge opposite to that of the ice on the road creating a "sticky" tire.

For more information, see:
http://www.fleet-central.com/bf/brknews2.cfm?rank=110
http://www.autonet.ca/Autonetstories/stories.cfm?storyID=1191

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