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The superpowers of coatings make possible the impossible
Hi-tech coatings make all sorts of high performance engineering, like jet engines, possible.
It is a tricky task, says Xiaoling Zhang, from the company, because the coating must protect such components both pre-launch (when they are exposed to atmospheric humidity at ground level) and also in orbit, against dust particles and radiation in space. Biofilms – gloopy accumulations of bacteria inside pipes – grow faster in low gravity environments, which could be a problem for water supplies or machinery that moves fluid around on space stations or future spacecraft, for example. “We’re seeing a lot of issues at the moment with car parks, where their passive fire protection system is peeling off,” he says, referring to the fire-resistant paint sometimes applied to concrete structures.
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