New roof tiles to battle climate change
The roof tiles feature hair gel and could help to counter climate change
Scientists in the US are working on new roof tiles featuring hair gel that could reduce the impact of global warming.
Experts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which President Barack Obama is set to visit today (23rd October), have combined gel with water to create the product, which is designed to reflect the sun's rays away from the Earth when temperatures rise.
When the Thermeleon tiles heat up, the gel creates a white surface that has reflective properties. However, the substance dissolves when it is cooler, which means the black backing included on the tiles absorbs heat which could be used to heat a building.
The Daily Mail reports that the breakthrough has already had scientists thinking about the next step for the product, which could be the creation of a paint version that can be sprayed onto dark roofs.
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Joe Walish, the lead scientist behind the study at MIT, said the team struggled with their initial idea to create a lava lamp-inspired product which would see certain liquids rise depending on the temperature.
"However, we knew we could produce gels that would change from clear to white in response to a change in temperature," he added.
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Comments
I rather like sidewaysnews but unfortunately the people that comment on this site generally are idiotic.
the man in the treet, the peasants the backbone of the UK are washing tins out to save,
are saving everything recycleable
carefully, patriotically dedicated to save the world from global disaster. Great.
The entertainers e.g, football kicking geniuses and pop star singers our tennis racket wizards
M.P.s and some Royals are swanning around on Liners
Or private Jet Planes and petrol eating huge cars,
for pleasure or work, regardless of the Carbon Footprint
Are we all sheep are we all conned by the rich?