A Paint That Is Impervious To Effects Of Nuclear Weapons?

[Guest guest]

In April 1993, the defence magazine Jane's International Defence Review announced the discovery by a British amateur inventor, Maurice Ward, of a thin plastic coating able to withstand temperatures of 2,700 degrees Centigrade

 

The reason why it was a defence magazine who first published news of This revolutionary invention is that the coating is so resistant to heat that it can make tanks, ships and aircraft impervious to the effects of nuclear weapons at quite close range -- and hence is of great interest to the military mind.

 

A little later that year the whole nation had an opportunity to see for themselves the effectiveness of Maurice Ward's new paint on BBC Television when it was featured on "Tomorrow's World". Presenter Michael Rodd showed viewers an ordinary chicken's egg that had been painted with the new coating. The paint was so thin it was not visible. Rodd then dramatically donned welder's visor and gauntlets, lit up an oxyacetylene torch, and played the flame directly onto the egg for several minutes.

 

When he removed the flame, and cracked the egg on the table top, viewers were able to see that the coating was so heat resistant that the egg was still raw and had not even begun to cook.

 

This invention, a simple paint that can render anything impervious to very high temperatures, has been the holy grail of chemical research for more than fifty years. Teams of scientists in the world's greatest industrial and defence laboratories have poured billions of pounds and hundreds of man-years into the search for such a substance -- a quest which made Ward's discovery even more extraordinary.

 

Ward's invention is remarkable enough, but the story of how he came to make it, and the resistance he encountered in getting anyone to believe him, is even more remarkable.

 

Maurice Ward comes from Blackburn and has no professional scientific background. The closest he has come to the chemical industry was when, as a young man, he drove a fork lift truck in the warehouse of ICI. For the past two decades, he has earned a living as a ladies hairdresser.

 

Part of his income was derived from selling his customers hair preparations such as shampoo, conditioner and hairspray. To maximise his income he rented a small workshop, bought standard chemicals and mixed and bottled his own brand hair products.

 

In the best traditions of Ealing Comedy, it was when playing around mixing up chemicals in his 'skunk works' that Ward stumbled on the formula that had eluded the finest minds in chemical research.

 

Realising at once the value of his invention, Ward wrote to Britain's major chemical companies, offering to demonstrate his material to them. Every one sent him the standard brush-off letter they send to cranks and crackpots. After the "Tomorrow's World" demonstration, Ward stopped getting the brush-off and starting getting offers instead.

 

One consequence of his contacts with chemical companies was that the head of research of ICI's paint laboratory left the firm and went into partnership with Ward to exploit the discovery commercially.

 

[Gauracandra]

I've seen this before, I believe on 60 Minutes. The way I remember it, there was this guy in England who heard a news story of a fire destroying a home, and killing the residents. So he decided to make a fire proofing substance. He just played around with different mixtures, never knowing how or why something works. Eventually he came up with this substance.

 

I don't recall it being a paint, but more like a puddy. He spread it on an egg, had an acetylene torch set on it, and as soon as he removed the flame (after 10 seconds) he touched the surface. Completely cool to the touch. No heat what so ever.

 

It was a substance that would not conduct heat at all. They even put it in a nuclear test chamber (small, testing version) and radiation could not penetrate the substance.

 

This was all several years ago. At the time he refused to make any commercial profit from it. He wanted to, but wanted to make sure it was not used for military purposes. He wanted it for building better homes to prevent destructive fires. Imagine if they had this product for the space shuttle. Rather than the heat resistant tiles that fall off,just paint the exterior with this substance. Anyways, it was very interesting. Sounds like he has a business partner who can take care of the business side of things.

[Gauracandra]

I just noted my wording might have been a little confusing in one regard. When I said after 10 seconds, I meant he applied the flame for like 10 seconds, and then immediately touched the surface and it was cool. Not that he waited 10 seconds, and then touched the surface. Its an important detail if you want to know the power of his invention.