1619 Whatever Happened To Starlite The Wonder Material

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[@kbbacon]

Mid 1990s, I headed up a corporation that focused on specialized concrete building materials. We were approached by a local "fire proof coatings" upstart. The owners were so secretive that I dismissed them quickly. What they were after was my corporation bankrolling them without any disclosure or promise of disclosure. I later came to believe that they were adding perlite to latex paint.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

people are funny!

[@ianelley]

Fascinating ! I remember the Tomorrows world program and always wondered what happened to it !! Last I heard Maurice was meeting people from NASA, that was ages ago !! Thanks for the detailed update, keep up the great work !!

[@mikedrop4421]

I think that he wanted all that money up front because once they figured out it was cake batter made with glue he would already have the money.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

lololol - I think you are right there - I think he was worried it was in fact super simple

[@taitjones6310]

@@ThinkingandTinkering It's the same type of situation that resulted in Coca-cola being bottled in the first place. Sodas were originally only served in soda shops. The guy that had the idea to bottle it, sold the idea to the shop owner up front for an undisclosed amount on the promise that he would make millions. After a bunch of haggling, the shop owner paid the man and he whispered in the shop owners ear, "bottle it". Simple idea, but nobody at the time had thought of it.

[@miken7629]

I remember when Starlite first made the news and he said it came from kitchen materials. I think Borax, standard household laundry detergent, is a key ingredient. Borosilicate glass is high temp glass used in Pyrex. The CEO of Borax led the team in developing the Space Shuttle heat shield tiles.

[@1aatlas]

The truth is, we will never know what was in starlite the inventor took the secrets of it to his grave.

[@amazac9869]

Hey ROB ,You always hit a nerve about every single subject you shared, tons of appreciations for your efforts and time throwing a light at the Alchemy of life , yeah its a wizardry way of humans tedious thinking about endorsement of thoughts ,inventors eventually either flattered or flattened, money speaks ''investors takes it all''. Cheers Mate.

[@antonnym214]

Mr. Hopkins, these tech videos are great and I think it is very cool you are branching out like this. Please also keep up your acting career. You are the BEST at what you do. All good wishes.

[@jamespossible2601]

An exceptional video with a brilliant lesson.

[@tolkienfan1972]

Tomorrow's World was a live show, and I watched that demonstration when it first aired! I LOVED that show.

[@zombiebiker5581]

Same,I’m 57 still remember it,loved Tomorrow’s World!

[@MrCptAmazing]

I'm sure you have heard this before, but if I were KNEW that I would be cut from the internet and there would be no way to access this information unless I saved a limited amount of data before hand, your videos would be right at the top. From explaining the actual scientific properties and phenomena behind so many INTEGRAL parts of everyday modern society, to super interesting tidbits of science past like this video here, you provide entertainment and knowledge all in one, all the time. Thank you!!

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

wow - thank you mate and thank you for taking the time to say that - cheers

[@dansonthetube]

Yes, its interesting Robert 😊 Invention is often something in the zeitgeist of the moment that many stumble across at similar times! Good ideas are all around but special people bring special qualities! It's interesting to note that 'By design' the very best design is often not noticed at all! As should be the case! Keep up the good work! 😊 Dan

[@noname7271]

I subscribe to your channel because your content is great. I'm not an engineer but I like to watch you people work and I like the way you explain your thoughts very clearly.

[@dans-designs]

I loved that episode of Tomorrow's World as a kid, as an inventor it is one of the things that stuck with me and I always wondered what happened to it.. Thank you for sharing this knowledge on such a fascinating material!

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

cheers mate

[@leighmurrell5494]

Morris is typical of a lot of inventors. I attended a meeting of inventors in Melbourne , Australia many years ago and the room was full of strange, paranoid men, only some of whom would actually give you a brief synopsis of their brainchild, and all of whom were too scared to subject their inventions to public and commercial scrutiny for fear of it being stolen. I suspect that a lot of their ideas went to the grave with them.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

yep - I think you are probably right there mate

[@nobodynoone2500]

Usually when you keep it secret, it's because it dosen't work.

[@misamsung6191]

Thanks for the update on Starlite. I always wondered about what happened to it and the guy who made it.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

cheers mate

[@philliplopez8745]

Thank you , I remember " starlite " always wondered what happened to it .

[@clangerbasher]

Down the years I have often thought about this material. But I could never remember enough to search for it online. Thanks for this update.

[@theaussienurseflipper.8113]

I think the KZbinrs name is nighthawk he does videos on how to make it

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

please expand your search and your advice - there is much more info out there on this beyond nighthawkinlight

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

cheers mate - there were a couple o documentaries done on this, QED did one called plastic fantastic which can be found int he internet archive - it's quite fascinating

[@theaussienurseflipper.8113]

@@ThinkingandTinkering cheers

[@Johnbro8]

Thanks for sharing, I always wondered where it ended up from Tomorrows World.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

cheers mate

[@veeanon7231]

It never stops amazing me how you seem to read my mind rob not only have you been turning out vids for years about everything I'm interested in you also seem to have the exact same opinions on the same subjects ... love what you do and how you put it across mate keep it up 👍

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

oh wow - isn't that weird lol - I guess we must just both be interested in the same sort of stuff - everything lol

[@veeanon7231]

@@ThinkingandTinkering haha yes indeed ... life the universe and everything!

[@boblewis5558]

@@veeanon7231 that's easy! ... 42!! 😁😁😁🤣🤣🤣

[@veeanon7231]

@@boblewis5558 the difficulty is in working out what the question is 😉

[@athannaelanderson3806]

@@ThinkingandTinkering Thank you for doing a video on the insulation material I mentioned a few days ago! Really shows you care Big man! Love and Respect ✊

[@donmoore7785]

Excellent analysis. I was fascinated by the approach of the inventor - who let himself block the success of his invention until its time had passed. His family apparently realized they better get something for the idea before it became almost worthless.

[@michaelkiddle3149]

I often wondered what happened to that thank you 👍

[@ian_b]

Excellent video.

[@technosaurus3805]

Reminded me of a weird story involving my 1st home... The previous owner had covered the back yard with wood chips and I wanted to replace them with grass. After raking the wood chips all up into a pile and burning them, I returned the next day to find a large quantity of ice frozen to the ash pile which had turned into a pale orange foam. Later burns of random brush on the same ash pile would reproduce the result with diminishing effect... no idea what chemical reactions happened there or what chemical the wood chips may have been treated with but it seemed like I may be observing something that could be industrially important.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

that is strange and interesting - we live in a fascinating world

[@Hclann1]

Probably just the dye

[@DeanTheDoctor]

It's likely the concentration of rare oxides and mineral content that older trees have. It sounds like it had a high concentration of iron or similar metal, but it's a mystery why it foamed like that. 😊🌎✨

[@robertjenkins5440]

You must have seen my comment yesterday about starlight, i'm glad somebody paid attention to it

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

cheers mate

[@justsomeguywashwd_jbm821]

Huh, weird. I remember hearing about this (or something similar), but I could have sworn that the stuff I was thinking of showed no visible permanent change to its surface at all. In fact the stuff I'm thinking of wasn't used as a paint, but more like a tile of some kind, like maybe tiles to potentially protect the Space Shuttle during reentry.

[@mickeythompson9537]

Yes, that's what I recall!

[@portland-182]

Ah nostalgia! Do you remember when the BBC TV made many science programmes?

[@richardlove4287]

This works well…. 40 g flour 20 g corn flour/starch 20 g icing sugar 20 g bicarbonate of soda. 5 g borax (if it needs to be bug and mould proof) 25 g water. Mix with enough pva glue to make a putty like substance and you’re done.

[@evanleebodies]

A good dollop of asbestos helps as well

[@EnglishTurkishExpert]

Even your rants are magnificent!

[@westwonic]

How was Starlite different to modern day intumescent passive fire protection products? These can resist hydrocarbon type fires up to 4 hours; subject to the applied thickness

[@SaveTheFuture]

It's been claimed that Starlite can survive the force of a nuclear blast and some insane related claims like ultrapowerful lasers can't damage it. Seems hard to believe. I guess that the military might want to exaggerate to concern enemies?

[@michaelrobertson8795]

I made some of it and melted a penny in the palm of my hand, would be nice to use something similar to line a forge.👍✌

[@massivecumshot]

In my experience, most brilliant inventors lack significant business and negotiation skills, and vastly overestimate the VALUE of their inventions because they are too emotionally close to it.

[@Spinningininfinity]

When your Mind is mind and then refined you'll mostly find it won't be "Mine" 🤔🤯😁 I was an avid watcher of Tomorrow's World and remember that demonstration well, it was on about the same time as the puncture-less bike tire. It's almost as if it was included in the site it was doomed to remain in the lab. Thanks for driving up some old memories☺️

[@smellycat249]

KZbin channel “Nighthawkandlight” already released the formula a year or so ago.

[@keithking1985]

Cool.... Iv seen other channels make there own version of it too. It's easy to make. And very handy stuff to know how to make..

[@dougmacdonald3722]

Nighthawkandlight

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

it's a formula mate - there are quite a few floating about and if you want still more you can always look up the MSDS of the current commercial products - the ingredients will be listed there

[@smellycat249]

@@ThinkingandTinkering msds on starlight huh?

[@wolfswan5124]

Awesome.

[@l0I0I0I0]

I think the issue concerning ideas being stolen is a true concern. Question is how can one PROPERLY protect ones self. It's a legitimate concern and I don't have an answer. Is there a law firm that is trust worthy or a company that can help protect private investors? TY in advance for your reply.

[@bigoldgrizzly]

I was wondering the other day about another 'heat shield' product featured, I think on tomorrows world in ? late 1970s ? It featured a mica based paint / coating, that reflected extreme heat and was demonstrated by a fella coating his hand and holding it in a blowtorch flame - any recollections about that one ??

[@jimanleo8312]

All advancements are a product of collaboration.. Gained knowledge through schooling or observational learning. Those who carry through are subject to learning from their mistakes or successes. Bless those who carry on.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

absolutely mate

[@angelusmendez5084]

Really interesting points. Reminds me of the guys that waste their money maintaining patents for nothing

[@beamer.electronics]

"Hope springs eternal" comes to mind, or perhaps some kind of kudos badge thing going on there? IMHO patents aren't what most people think they are: You are given a certain period to make a commercial product out of your idea. If you don't succeed (most likely) - the public now has access to your idea. It's a form of disclosure - far better than keeping it locked up in your head, and they are expensive! A lot of major companies prefer to own trade secrets and are cynical about people hawking patents around. And, I won't get started on the military and patents - that can be a complete nightmare scenario!

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

I think it is about 95% of patents never get made into products

[@martinrowland2593]

@@ThinkingandTinkering I heard about a guy who created a really effective car wind screen wash and patented it. But manufacturers copied it and just tweaked the ingredients by a small percent, I am also thinking if someone went through the tomorrows world archive there would be a useful golden nugget that's relevant today but not back then, that has been forgotten

[@Hclann1]

My father was a research chemist and Vice President at a small automotive paint company. Right before he retired he developed an automotive water based metallic paint his company branded as Hydro-Flint. I asked him why he didn’t wait and develop it after he retired and he said he did it to prove it could be done. The big boys were saying it was impossible. Shortly after he developed it DuPont told him at a trade show they would have their own in 6 months. I think it took them 2 years but to your point, once they knew it was possible they figured it out.

[@dotsthots]

I remember another similar material on Tomorrow's World. It was a dark green clay-like substance. In the programme the inventor had it on his hand and he had a blow torch on it for the entire programme. Does anyone remember that? Tomorrow's World seemed to mark the grave of every technology it showcased lol.

[@tolkienfan1972]

Remember the transputer?

[@dotsthots]

@@tolkienfan1972 If you mean the parallel processing computer... I do... .but I'm a programmer.

[@tolkienfan1972]

@@dotsthots why "but"?

[@dotsthots]

@@tolkienfan1972 Well I know about it but not from Tomorrow's World... that's what I meant.

[@tolkienfan1972]

@@dotsthots oh I see. I was a kid when it showed on TW and it blew my mind. A few years later I looked into getting a module, but they were expensive. I'm also a developer

[@plunder1956]

I remember that original Tomorrow's World demo & I think Horizon also showed a demo. I held a UK patent & discovered how critical it was to get product into the market above all. Had this inventer made a sane progressive deal very early on he might well have got serious money out of it. But crazy dreams of success often blind one to the genuine opportunity inside an idea.

[@Hclann1]

You almost always have to sellout your first invention for 10 to 20 percent. If it is a huge success you can use that capital to totally fund your next idea or 2. It is a hard lesson to learn for some inventors, but those with the capital to risk get most of the reward.

[@wesbaumguardner8829]

Good talk. See you out there.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

cheers mate

[@onebackzach]

I wonder how it compares to asbestos. Of course asbestos is horribly dangerous, but in situations where safety requirements can be met asbestos probably functions similarly.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

do you know - I don't know how asbestos works - but I will look it up

[@gingernutpreacher]

And yes it's a shame he was gready

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

yes it was - if he had been a little more moderate he would have been more famous, richer and helped save quite a few lives - I can think of a few instances where this would have helped prevent tragedy

[@gingernutpreacher]

@@ThinkingandTinkering wasn't he inspired by the plane crash that sufercated several people? There's also footage of him being very controlling ( almost abusive ) with his daughter's when they mentioned selling it

[@johnknight8152]

There's a Canadian channel called nighthawkinlight he does an excellent video on this too.

[@rogerbraintree9552]

Could you show a basic version of a thermoresistant substance that can be made using baking flour and plaster or something?

[@alextaylor9746]

Bread + little oxygen+ lots of heat .

[@stevetobias4890]

I was wondering about this a couple of months ago. Lol, goes to show the length of greed.

[@jasonhaymanonthedrawingboard]

Starlite supposed to be nuke proof. I’ve made my own before now. I even used table salt in mine. I figured out it was some kind of salt dough. Even through coffee granules in mine. Might make another batch to show? Thought it smelled nicer that way. The issue I had was working out how to bake it into solid non soluble tiles. Might require another salt like potassium or manganese, along the lines of sodium manganese anhydride. It more interesting because mix with a carbon source And a binder. It altered the reaction and it resistance to erosion. It might be possible under the conditions for nano diamonds to form. Had wished to use mine as a forge liner. Being stone cold broken at the time. The next task would to build me own space shuttle. On that I was most certainly dreaming. Though nasa might like a go? Great party trick! Orbital re entry using pastry? Never did quite figure out how to key it to a spacecraft. But it great stuff.

[@DANTHETUBEMAN]

delicious heat shield

[@jasonhaymanonthedrawingboard]

@@DANTHETUBEMAN I’d joke further about the type of pastry. Though if it got pva in it. You won’t want to eat it. Don’t think I’ve ever heard nasa make a Cornish pasty heat shield. But if you ask them nicely the might give it a try? On a scale model. I just love to see one of them take a bite and say tasty!

[@DANTHETUBEMAN]

@@jasonhaymanonthedrawingboard as long as the can lights on a sound stage won't melt it NASA is a go all systems nominal

[@jasonhaymanonthedrawingboard]

@@DANTHETUBEMAN sure nasa can knock itself out! Just send me the footage of a non cremated pasty an I’m cool! Lol!

[@rossbrumby1957]

For the space shuttle, get onto Jeremy Clarkson- he's been there, done that!

[@wesmatron]

I remember it appearing on Tomorrow'sWorld

[@rwells3376]

I can tell you from personal experience that if you do not act upon an idea as soon as possible, someone else will come across it sooner or later. I have drawings of things I came up with well over 25 years ago that I either didn't have the money or the time to proceed with it, only to see it on the market from someone else some years later. Believe me I kick myself in the butt every time.

[@daviddauphin838]

Agreed. I have had some ideas but was not paid money owed to me in time and 2 good ideas went to people overseas. Maybe next time.

[@rwells3376]

@@daviddauphin838 I have 6 promising concepts right now. I have done initial prototyping on three of them and the results look good. I'm working on the prototyping of two more and looking for money to do it. I've started looking into government grants, long process, better to have a patent first. That has a huge expense in itself, especially with all of the foreign espionage, and intellectual theft. Even that's not a guarantee. I know there are a lot of people with great concepts, and no way of making them happen. You have to wonder how many ideas have died with the people.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

Yep - it happens all the time mate - and there is a very good reason. I might do a video on this

[@daviddauphin838]

@@ThinkingandTinkering I would like to hear your perspective on this.

[@excitedbox5705]

So basically a refractory, carbonizing material and a CO2/gas generator mixed with some binder. Silicon dioxide (refractory), starch (carbonizing), sodium bicarbonate (CO2).

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

yeah - basically - that's all there is to it

[@totherarf]

You can't stop an idea ........ especially when it's time is right!

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

I absolutely agree with that mate

[@patrickday4206]

Yeah it can be a double edge sword protecting your ideas!

[@zombiebiker5581]

Does anyone remember on Tomorrow’s World,clear liquid that was poured on to the the hands to replace,medical, chemicals etc glove?

[@wernerviehhauser94]

Hmmmm.... didn't the Apollo launch pad structures have similar coatings that foamed up under heat?

[@peterlang777]

I always wondered what it was made of

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

it will be depressingly simple

[@jgallo600]

I completely agree on this discussion... where is your company at on turning all your graphene tech into more commercially obtainable products? I'd love to see some update videos on that! Get back to your roots!

[@kylecampbell586]

Hey I just seen the bit that you did on the NASA Sterling engine made step by step was just wondering how efficient it would be to create electricity using a speaker magnet setup to make electric generator

[@kylecampbell586]

Also I noticed that you made two of them was wondering if you put a rod in between the two you could make them harmoniously work together might have to build apparatus to hold them a certain distance apart

[@kylecampbell586]

I bet if you could make it out of a 50 gallon drum rip the motor out of a car it might power an electric motor directly

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

it's going to be around 30% efficient or so - it is a Carnot engine so around that is about right

[@robroysyd]

Look to the Manhattan project. Once it was shown it was possible other countries have poured resources into building their own nukes. Sure some espionage has helped but they still would have gotten there.

[@johnkean6852]

They could have used this on the Shuttle missions instead of those heat proof tiles that kept falling off. SHAME ON YOU ICI

[@michaelcorbidge7914]

It actually looks to me like Marconi invented the transmitting aerial. Tesla was fixated on a big ball on aTower for transmission.

[@nigelwilliams7920]

Tesla used his wireless communication to control model boats. He tried to interest the US navy in these as potential attack craft (guided torpedoes etc) but they couldn't see the need. No big balls involved there (apart from Tesla's!).

[@Arachnoid_of_the_underverse]

Im surised they havent marketted it as a thermal coating for steel structures, which come under immense stress when in a high temperature fire. That is unless the costs and application process put them squarly out of the playing field with other similar products.

[@RedPillRachel]

The WTC would still be standing; that event came straight to mind on reading your suggestion. The buildings had asbestos tiles installed which were supposed to have performed this function, if starlite is functionally better for this, it should be researched further.

[@Arachnoid_of_the_underverse]

@@RedPillRachel The main design problem with the WTC appears to be that each floor was hooked to the exterior by hangers to save on weight, and its these that gave way. This caused a domino effect as each floor slammed into the next all the way down.

[@RedPillRachel]

@@Arachnoid_of_the_underverse this is a possibility, but my theory was that the asbestos was shaken off during the initial impact. Either that, or bombs pre-placed throughout the building. Squibs and other such evidence; e.g. WTC7, mean we simply cannot rule this out yet. When I was younger, I was 10% impact damage, 90% bombs. Now I'm 50/50, undecided, at the age of 40. The evidence is still compelling BOTH WAYS.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

they don't seem to be marketing it at all really

[@Arachnoid_of_the_underverse]

@@ThinkingandTinkering It could also be an issue with bulk application or checmical stability.

[@cchanc3]

I have personal knowledge of this. I made an incredible invention (don't ask) in 1987 that I am still sitting on to this day...though not for much longer. not much money in it, but that's not my motivation. I have long recognized that I have an obligation to the specific community involved to disclose for the greater good.

[@deshyvin]

Your long recognized obligation, of which you have steadfastly neglected, for nary a better day shall pass than this day where the world should be bettered.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

it's up to you what you do with it

[@deshyvin]

@James Cunliffe yea sorta like tht :)

[@DANTHETUBEMAN]

often things have to be given away to have any value because business law and patent law favors big money, Henry Morey's amplifier comes to mind. the cold tube would have to be patented and it's to bad it was not because we are so good at dopeing materials now who knows what we could do.

[@cchanc3]

@@terrafirma9328 there is no business planned. i'm just going to write a book describing what I did and then most likely a youtube channel.

[@msamour]

Yeah, i'v got this cool invention lined up that is round and if you insert a round piece of tube in the middle, you can roll stuff around. I think it will be so useful, that I should be able to make millions with it. I'm not sure what i will call it yet.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

lol - sounds incredible mate

[@josephpadula2283]

Whatever you wind out calling it, wheel it around to the venture capitalists to raise money!

[@msamour]

X) I was in a cheeky mood when I wrote that comment.

[@msamour]

@@terrafirma9328 Imagine this guy with a caveman version of a trademark/copyright lawyer. That would be hilarious indeed.

[@dfhepner]

Where did you get the table of elements over your desk? I have been looking for one for years now with out much luck.

[@KaliFissure]

I imagined it was mostly talc as talc is shorter form of asbestos and it just needed a binder.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

I think you are probably right - it would. have been a simple mix I think

[@canadiangemstones7636]

Talc is most definitely not a “shorter form of asbestos”, it is a separate mineral altogether.

[@ianperryman1078]

@@canadiangemstones7636 They're both hydrous magnesium silicates. Asbestos [ Chrysotile ] Mg3(Si2O5)(OH)4. Talc Mg3(Si2O5)2(OH)2

[@tamaseduard5145]

👍👍👍

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

cheers mate

[@zafod101]

Rob I think you should host a new Tomorrow's world program 👍

[@XenonJohnD]

Robert Llewellyn (Kryten in Red Dwarf) pitched an electric car show to the BBC and was rejected. Started his own on YTube and now it is a huge success. We may laugh now at old T World but it was very inspirational for kids, myself included. The fact that some of the ideas were bonkers even at the time was part of the fun.

[@robertolivarez5742]

How could we create a 3D printable resin with Starlight properties

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

mix in some cornflower and baking soda

[@boblewis5558]

Has anyone ever discovered/disclosed the starlite composition/formula? Obviously no commercial usage can be made without owning the patent or a licence to it, but for private, home use? ... Should be no problem. I'm thinking especially in the area of melting and casting metals and furnace insulation.

[@theaussienurseflipper.8113]

KZbinr I think called nighthawk has videos on making it

[@jimurrata6785]

@@theaussienurseflipper.8113 Ben's channel is Nighthawkinlight.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

there are quite a few replications about - Nighthawkinlight is the most watched but if you do a search on it you will find half a dozen - at least - recipes then of course you can just get the meds of the commercial products and that will give you the ingredients of the current commercial versions

[@SimonSozzi7258]

But we already have aerogels and ceramics and tons of material alternatives.

[@schrodingerscat1863]

So essentially it is a carbon based ablative heat shield, nothing really special about that. There are dozens of commercially available intumescent paints and coating available that can withstand this kind of heat for varying periods of time.

[@groovedodger]

A lot of building projects have had all steel beams etc. painted with "intumescent paint" these days for fire regs is this the same ?

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

yes - pretty much

[@alandavies55]

There are a lot of good intumescent products around today. While rebuilding a block of flats I had to put a grove round all the door edges to take an intumescent strip. My daft assistant decided to test it by briefly running the hot air gun over it. So there we were stuck in a smelly flat until I could free the door with a padsaw.

[@groovedodger]

@@alandavies55 Would that trap you inside if there was a fire ?

[@alandavies55]

@@groovedodger It would, but only if there is an active fire outside the door, it is intended to stop fire racing through large buildings. In practice the quickest way out of a room in many modern buildings would be through one of the stud walls.

[@steverichmond7142]

Aerogel paint does it.

[@Jason-ju7df]

What is your Favorite StarLite Recipe?

[@lagunafishing]

The name Starlite also refers to glowsticks

[@C-M-E]

That is definitely the problem with perceived brilliance and ownership of an idea. Something you think was an original idea was probably already thought of a hundred or more years ago and either was found to be impractical or they had no way of manufacturing it at its time of inception. Fast forward to our modern age where it always seems a new idea has magically grown out of thin air when its more likely to be recycled wisdom of yore. The truly visionary stuff that is indeed a new idea becomes a curse for its creator. You give it life, feed it, struggle to make it a reality and while you want to be reimbursed for your investment, ultimately it will become a public resource and do more good in the world running loose and free to make iterations of itself for the betterment of mankind, but its initial creator feels slighted for not having benefited for their effort. Makes you wonder what kind of stuff (both great and terrible) has gone to the grave through the span of history. Ultimately it's not unlike raising a child. Do you protect the life with the risk that it will turn on you, or let it go free with the hopes that something good will come of it?

[@boblewis5558]

Imagine if the "Baghdad Battery had been discovered before the Leyden jar and/or Leclanché cell had been invented! Talk about "prior" art! 😁😁

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

I almost invariably find that what is touted as new is the old window dressed or remade with modern materials

[@kevinleebailey]

Cladding on high-rise buildings would be the perfect place for this product.

[@theaussienurseflipper.8113]

Here in Australia, a sale man sold my parents a repaint of their house. Fireproof paint. I like 10 and said while show us the experiment of burning the paint on little metal strips. Everyone was amazed I asked him with the fire is on the other side. He got upset with me.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

for sure

[@ArjayMartin]

Have you commercialized any of your inventions?

[@paulp1204]

No, ideas are very valuable, which is why there is such a thing as intellectual property rights and the patent system. I am also stunned why you would think gold in the ground has no value. That's absurd, and like saying apples on a tree have no value, nor wine in a bottle.

[@XenonJohnD]

A patent only gives you the right to sue an infringer at your own expense. If the copies are from a country that just does not care about such niceties, this might be futile anyway. Unless you as a private individual have at least 150K spare to fund that, then you will either have to build your business very rapidly or license the patent before the patent costs themselves mount up. It suits large companies (Apple vs Samsung for example) more than individual inventors. An alternative is to be first to market, the most well known company with the best product and always one development step ahead of those who might copy you. This may be why Tesla(cars) made their patents public - others will copy them anyway so might as well adopt the moral high-ground !

[@s.a.3882]

Sadly most inventors are poor businessmen. If you have an idea and hopefully a patent, you need to be realistic about what your idea is worth and get it to market. Sitting on an idea like Morris did him no good at all, since he died without recieving a penny, when a more sensible business approach may have made him confortably wealthy and a millionaire with royalties.

[@jsmdnq]

Just a case of being so greedy you get nothing.

[@tatradak]

It would be good if you could do WD40 as I think its rubbish and a mix of acetone and automatic transmission fluid is way better!! Also what do you think of boron nitride, very useful stuff...

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

I have looked into boron nitride and it certainly has some interesting properties

[@tatradak]

@@ThinkingandTinkering thanks for replying.. What is of real interest to our team is its nearly as hard as diamonds and has a hexagonal structure.. This has lead to an unusual ability that I can't explain in public due to NDA but it would be great if you gave you opinion and actually "exposed" this unknown property. Your channel is fascinating and when you have your young side kick it's very amusing!!

[@BinneReitsma]

I really love your videos, I learned more from your videos then I ever did on school. Plus your accent and voice helps, it nice to listen to. I can imagine if a Californian would do the same I couldn't stand it..🤣

[@peterclark6290]

A dog-eat-dog system only describes the participants. The legal process of registering a patent is expensive and needs to be duplicated in every nation which for the little guy is prohibitive. Thus the world loses (or loses access time for) many great ideas. There are hundreds of stories of penniless inventors and scruple-free businessmen. Bell didn't invent the telephone, the 'Kingsbury' thrust bearing (plus the mathematical proof) was invented by Australian, Michell, etc. The sole loser is our species: unless a simpler rule 'that publication confers ownership' is adopted. Working out the nett contribution of any development is mathematically simple and also a fair return, with an upper limit also maths-deducible. A sensible process which also deals with the negative monopolistic aspect.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

that's a nice suggestion mate - do you know the Germans have legally enshrined that

[@edwinhageman9377]

Different topic: why can't "heat pipes" be used to power a "sterling engine" to power "generator or alternator"??

[@kapytanhook]

Heat pipes don't liberate energy, just transfer heat

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

you would still need a heatt source but I would think they could

[@DANTHETUBEMAN]

I Honestly think Boots on the ground Material sciences are more important then higher chalk board mathematics now. and probably have been for 80 years, lol

[@bobjoatmon1993]

Classic greed, if he'd cut the price to 10% he'd have sold it and made much more in the long run

[@DannyWilliamH]

Makes you wonder how many other inventions and discoveries were lost to greed or general eccentricity of the founder. I'd say he would have deserved some payment or investment for the finding but $14B and 51% of of all products that use it is both laughable and greedy. It reminds me of a local inventor that created a toy nobody particularly liked. He touted it as the best this and that ever made, it was just a glorified bouncing ball with a light contraption in it. Anyway, a company DID offer to buy it from him after years of seeking a buyer and he turned down what was supposedly a very fair offer. His counter offer that he would not budge from? $10 Million 😅

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

it is funny how people sometimes view themselves and their ideas lol

[@GigsVT]

it was marketing. not a great discovery. intumescent fire stop was patented in 1948

[@XenonJohnD]

I vaguely remember he was offered 3 or 4 million which he turned down.

[@howardbealeau]

Can you please give Andrea Rossi a call 😂

[@MrBrelindm]

Morris became a victim of his own success.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

I think he was a victim of himself mate lol

[@ManuelBTC21]

The idea of intellectual property needs to go. If you have a great idea, find joy in seeing it spread as widely as possible.

[@Noone-mo4dr]

Easy to say until someone is stealing your hard work for some abstract notion of a greater good. There's a reason why alchemists used to encode their notes

[@__--JY-Moe--__]

but isn't this why were all here today? it can be done, the result of doing it! hence, here we are!! but yes, the attitudes R the resulting factor's. of where the potential goes!!! good luck all !! stay away from the monkey's paw!!

[@keithking1985]

Making his kids run into the back of hairdressers so he could follow them wad genius.. I LIKE THIS GUY. I KNOW HE DIED AND LEFT THE RECIPE OF SATARLITE TO HIS KIDS. BUT HE'S STILL A BALLER IN MY MY EYES 👀 👌🦾💇‍♂️

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

lol - for sure - it was an odd thing to do

[@TimZ007]

This is were a bird in the hand is worth more than 2 in the bush came from LOL🤣Greedy bastard looking for a whole forest.

[@theaussienurseflipper.8113]

He was too greedy.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

and a bit too controlling maybe?

[@theaussienurseflipper.8113]

@@ThinkingandTinkering maybe too much of a simple design, and he was scared that they would find out

[@markbothum4338]

Currently terrified SpaceX will steal my PCB cooled asbestos-and-lead (radiation shield) space suit. Patent pending.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

lol

[@peterschmidt1453]

He was holding back trying to patent Starlite, but in order to have a patent covering all various formulas required the patent to explain the physics of the insulating properties, but that required extensive research in a Materials Science laboratory, which he would not allow, so it was his own fault in the end that others managed to replicate the effect.

[@nobodynoone2500]

If it worked, investors would be lined up to fund it.

[@peterschmidt1453]

@@nobodynoone2500 At one time investors were lined up, but he refused to hand over the formula. It's too late now, it's been figured out. Expanding carbon fire insulating materials are available from many manufacturers now, maybe not the same as his but they do the job.

[@dav1dbone]

Remember Tomorrow's World, remember Starlight, unlike you Rob being "open source", we never got to find out what Starlight contained. A very selfish philosophy, if it had been on your channel, you'd have gave it a go, showed the viewers a method and folk could develop it. I always thought it was made from hair clippings for some reason🙄

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

I loved tomorrow's world - it's a shame it was cut - I believe in the team mate - for me no one person does anything we achieve so much more if we work together

[@gingernutpreacher]

First

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

awesome!