A Glue That Sticks to Nothing
Kirt's Cogitations™ #69

RF Cafe University"Factoids," "Kirt's Cogitations," and "Tech Topics Smorgasbord" are all manifestations of my ranting on various subjects relevant (usually) to the overall RF Cafe theme. All may be accessed on these pages:

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A Glue that Sticks to Nothing

Scientists at EIC Labs have developed a new glue that doesn't stick to anything - how hard can that be? Well, the trick is that it sticks like epoxy when they need it to stick, but it can be "turned off" with the flick of a switch, literally. This new adhesive has specially implanted ions that, when subjected to a potential of 10 V to 50 V for about a minute, totally looses its stickiness. It holds indefinitely otherwise. In experiments, it permitted painted metal surfaces to be bonded together and then separated on command without even losing any paint. Potential uses include holding solar arrays in place until deployment in space, affixing temporary radio markers to animals for tracking, and even for surgical procedures.