Water cooling at ultra-high temperatures made possible by Hong Kong-led scientific breakthrough

A Hong Kong-led research team has cracked a centuries-old problem that has made it impossible to use water for cooling extremely hot surfaces, from rocket engines to frying pans. A new low-cost, thin and flexible film developed by scientists at the City University of Hong Kong with researchers in mainland China and France makes it possible for the first time to overcome the Leidenfrost effect and efficiently cool surfaces at ultra-high temperatures using water. Named after the German doctor Johann Gottlob Leidenfrost, who first described it in the 18th century, the effect is often observed in kitchens – when water droplets bounce like beads on hitting a hot pan.

Video source: City University of Hong Kong