The Titanic
According to findings published on ScienceDaily, researchers at the University of Rochester have developed a new technique that allows ordinary metal structures to remain afloat indefinitely, even when punctured or heavily damaged, raising the possibility of ships that are far harder to sink than anything built before.
The work comes from scientists at the Institute of Optics, who say they have found a way to turn simple aluminum tubes into what they describe as “unsinkable” components. The idea is surprisingly straightforward. Instead of redesigning entire vessels, the team focused on changing how water interacts with the metal itself.
Led by Chunlei Guo, the researchers etched the inner surfaces of aluminum tubes with microscopic and nanoscale textures. These tiny pits create a superhydrophobic surface, meaning water is strongly repelled rather than absorbed. When the treated tubes are submerged, they trap a stable pocket of air inside.
That trapped air makes all the difference. Because water cannot enter and fill the tube, it never gains the extra weight that would normally cause it to sink. The effect is similar to how certain insects and spiders carry air bubbles underwater to stay buoyant.
To make the design more reliable, the team added a divider inside each tube. This helps keep the air pocket locked in place even if the tube is pushed vertically into the water or tossed around by waves. In tests, the tubes continued floating for weeks in rough, turbulent conditions with no noticeable loss of buoyancy.
Perhaps most striking, the researchers deliberately damaged the structures. They punched large holes through the metal and still found the tubes would not sink. Even severely compromised pieces stayed afloat, suggesting the approach could add a new layer of safety for marine engineering.
Earlier versions of the group’s floating devices relied on sealed disks, which could lose stability when tilted. The newer tube design is simpler and much tougher, making it better suited for real world environments like oceans and rivers.
The team also demonstrated that multiple tubes can be connected into larger rafts capable of supporting significant weight. Beyond ships and floating platforms, they believe the structures could even help generate renewable energy by harvesting power from waves.
If the concept scales up successfully, future vessels may rely less on bulkheads and pumps and more on materials that simply refuse to sink in the first place.