I can see clearly now
The early morning winter ritual of demisting the inside of the car may soon be a thing of the past, with the development of a nanotechnology based lacquer that acts as a heat source.
The electrically conductive coating uses carbon nanotubes to heat the windscreen across its entire surface – with no wires to obstruct the view.
The technique has been developed by Ivica Kolaric of the Fraunhofer Technology Development Group TEG in Stuttgart. The researchers are now working on a bonding system for the approach.
When attached to an electricity supply, the lacquer coating is transformed into a wide, flat heater which exactly covers the surface to be heated and continues to function even when damaged in places.
The coating itself does not store any heat. “The lacquer converts the electricity almost entirely into warmth and transfers this to the windscreen,” explains Kolaric. “What’s more,” he adds, “the CNT resistance heater can be integrated in the vehicle’s standard 12V power supply.”
