Here's one meteorologist saying that the next few winters - well, actually the next 20 to 30 - in the US should be colder than normal.

http://www.accuweather.com/blogs/news/st...ive-wi.asp

I feel it already began a few years ago here in the Great Lakes/Midwest area. The years from the mid-00s until now have been trending colder than the long mild spell we had from the late-80s, 90s and into the early-00s.

(02-02-2011 09:39 AM)DrTorch Wrote:  

(02-01-2011 10:37 PM)smn1256 Wrote:  Here's something that might help in the long run and doesn't cost that much. I'll go ahead and assume it won't be long before California require this on all new and repaired roofs. From the front page of my local newspaper:

Please note my past posts re: my interest in photocatalysts (TiO2 being the most common). I am pleased to see more products coming to market, and hope they meet expectations.

I have made some effort to get into this field, but didn't get a lot of traction. I'm hoping my current institution will allow me to push in that direction eventually.

Any chance of incorporating that into roads where a little might go a long way? Would it be effective with smog rising up from exhaust?

(02-02-2011 12:05 PM)I45owl Wrote:  

(02-02-2011 09:39 AM)DrTorch Wrote:  

(02-01-2011 10:37 PM)smn1256 Wrote:  Here's something that might help in the long run and doesn't cost that much. I'll go ahead and assume it won't be long before California require this on all new and repaired roofs. From the front page of my local newspaper:

Please note my past posts re: my interest in photocatalysts (TiO2 being the most common). I am pleased to see more products coming to market, and hope they meet expectations.

I have made some effort to get into this field, but didn't get a lot of traction. I'm hoping my current institution will allow me to push in that direction eventually.

Any chance of incorporating that into roads where a little might go a long way? Would it be effective with smog rising up from exhaust?

Funny that you ask that...

I made a proposal to the DC COG to research this looking at putting it on the sound walls and barriers in the area. I'd be hesitant to put it on the roads for two reasons:

1. I think it will wear away with traffic. It can't really be embedded into the asphalt as it facilitiates a rxn w/ O2 and must be at the surface.

2. There is a phenomenon of "superhydrophillicty" that has been explored (and to my knowledge used by Toyota for anti-fogging mirrors). While I think you need a controlled, specific application of the TiO2 for this to take place, I'd hate to see spots along the freeway of perfectly smooth ice because the water was spread evenly.

Now the punch line, a couple of years after I submitted my proposal, I read a paper in the literature by some people at Lamar U, who had done the very tests of putting this on road materials.