This surface is so hydrophobic, water bounces off it, without splashing.
@Henry, have you seen this yet?
Thanks for sharing, that looks like some very interesting stuff.
Yeah it makes me think that what we call hydrophobic glass, really isn’t since droplets stick to it even though its vertical. Almost as if there is a “no man’s land” between hydrophilic glass and truly hyrophobic that makes it hard to wash windows. Either extreme would actually be good and easy to work with. Whether water sheets off or beads off, the operative term is “off”. I’d like to know why some droplets defy gravity on hydrophobic glass and stick to window, collect dirt and leave spots. I’m sure Henry can chime in about contact angles.
[video=youtube_share;z5L_vPkorBU]Mark Shaw: One very dry demo - YouTube
SWEET SWEET SWEET! Welcome to my world! I just caught sight of this thread with videos. I have written posts about this stuff in my blog. If you guys have the time we can dive right into it. Yes it is true. There is a universe of difference between hydrophobic and superhydrophobic. The latter technology is with us. NO water will stick. Not even a small drop. But to apply it to a window is difficult. Really difficult. Not because of chemistry. But rather optics. There are two steps to creating such a surface on glass. The first step leaves windows cloudy or hazy. Not a prob for spandrel glass. But it absolutely is for transparent. Of course this would be the panacea for hard water spots. You can’t have a spot without a drop. Although one interesting thing involving the formation of microscopic ice crystals on superhydrophobic surfaces. It does happen. The implications from this effect are interesting.
I can tell from what you all have posted that you DO get it. So lets go from here!
Henry
Interesting video, thanks for sharing.
Are there any products out that can make windows more hydrophilic? We were using a product called Nano, but I believe they have quit producing it. Any suggestions would be appreciated😊
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Betsy
Wee Due Windows 
This is pretty cool. I have seen some other videos on super hydrophobic surfaces. If they can find a way to manufacture this with glass and keep the glass transparent or clear, kiss window cleaning goodbye. Yes the windows will still get dirty, but all you will need to do is spray them down, since water wants to naturally attract what it comes in contact with. The water will grab the dirt and simply bounce off, repel. Clean window every time. And since this isn’t a coating, it will never wear out.
Very troubling.
If a boat was made from this material, would it sink really, really fast or float higher?
Has anyone thought that part of our job might be to create this type of glass surface and maintain it? Which would include “cleaning” the windows.
The two problems with superhydrophobic surfaces now involves the ease with which the secondary micro structure can be destroyed by even a fingertip. Also the loss of total transparency because the glass becomes semi translucent.
Henry
Can anyone tell me why water appears to defy gravity by moving upwards on a window pane? I call it bleeding.
FF,
Bleeding is an industry term. It happens left to right or down and up too! When your water based cleaning solution has extremely low surface tension it will cling to glass. The more hydrophylic the surface of the glass the greater the tendency for the same solution to bleed. How I test is to wet the whole pane. Then squeegee half the window. Leave a line of delineation down the middle separating the wet side from the dry side. Sometimes your water will move right over forming little “legs”. It will even move up if you squeegee across the top of the window. The humidity of the air and temperature are two other controlling factors. Certain chems are notorious for bleeding like TSP. If I do the test and get “no bleed”, then I know it won’t bleed out from the edges either. At least on that window.
Henry
