Scientists at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, China, have developed a new type of ultra-slippery toilet bowl that won’t stick to anything. The new toilet bowl design may eventually replace porcelain and ceramic toilet bowls.
Humans have relied on porcelain and earthenware for centuries for their toilet bowls. While it seems unlikely that we’ll see the material completely replaced anytime soon, if this ultra-slippery toilet bowl created by scientists takes off, it will give us a new thing to hope for.
Ultra-slippery toilet bowl designed as 3D-printed object, and as a video New Scientist Performances, almost nothing can stick to the bowl. Even more interestingly, the researchers found that the toilet bowl remained slippery after multiple uses and after being rubbed down with sandpaper.
One of the biggest benefits of having an ultra-slippery toilet bowl isn’t just its cleanliness. If nothing sticks to the bowl, you can reduce water usage for flushing the toilet when using these types of products.
The researchers call it an abrasion-resistant super-slippery flush toilet (ARSFT), and it’s made using materials that easily repel complex liquids and viscoelastic solids. However, these types of materials are usually easily broken by mechanical abrasion, the researchers point out in a published paper. Advanced Engineering Materials.
The material used to make the ultra-slippery toilet bowl can stand up to sandpaper and stay as slippery as it did before, a major achievement. While it’s unlikely we’ll see such a thing replacing our current toilet bowls, it’s cool to see what scientists can accomplish in this particular area, and it’ll be interesting to see where they take this from.
We may even see this material used in lunar toilets sometime in the future.
