New surface coating for glass could eliminate image
distortion caused by condensation and also prevent frost buildup.
Preventing glass from fogging or frosting up is a
longstanding challenge with myriad applications: eyeglasses, cameras,
microscopes, mirrors and refrigerated displays, to name but a few. While there
have been many advances in meeting this challenge, so far there has been no
systematic way of testing different coatings and materials to see how
effectively they work under real-world conditions.
Now, a team of MIT researchers has developed such a testing
method, and used it to find a coating that outperforms others not only in
preventing foggy buildups, but also in maintaining good optical properties
without distortion