Warm to Solidify, Cool to Melt.

[swestrup]

And NO, I'm not referring to any part of my body in the above title, but to a new chemical compound that is a liquid at room temperature, but solidifies when heated to between 45°C and 75°C. This is not unheard of (eggwhites do that) but this is the first compound discovered that completely reverses the process and reverts back to its initial liquid state whenever the temperature drops back below 45°C. Since this compound was discovered a whole host of others with similar structures have been found, so its looking like we'll hear lots of good things about this.

My question is, what are we gonna use this new class of compounds for? It seems obvious that they should have thousands of uses, but the only ones I can think of are governor-type applications where (for example) a rotating axle is slowed when the heat from its rotation goes above a critical temperature. That smacks of poor imagination on my part. What other uses can we think of?

Comments

[sps.livejournal.com]

Passive thermostats in heating systems and limited-slip differentials count as obvious 'governor-type' applications, I'm sure. There are nice applications to (one-shot) casting: how convenient if the cooling operation that solidifies the product also melts the mould! There are probably also medical nearby applications for things that can be poured and/or dumped in baths as a liquid but solidify from body heat. Come to that, anything that has to be fitted to the body. And in safety systems there must be applications for seals and bearings that harden reversibly when heated.