Thanks to a new lubricant, small gears can run with
virtually no friction. Made from liquid crystalline fluid, these lubricants
drastically reduce friction and wear.
Lubricants are used in motors, axels, ventilators and
manufacturing machines. Although lubricants are widely used, there have been
almost no fundamental innovations for this product in the last twenty years.
Together with a consortium, the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials
IWM in Freiburg has developed an entirely new class of substance that could
change everything: liquid crystalline lubricant. Its chemical makeup sets it
apart; although it is a liquid, the molecules display directional properties
like crystals do.