Dive summary:
- Like other aging buildings constructed of limestone or other acid-susceptible rock, the York, England, cathedral called York Minster has to fight for its structural life against acidic rain that results from hundreds of years of industrial pollution.
- Now, scientists from Cardiff University in Wales and the University of Iowa hope they have concocted a coating that will protect the York Minster limestone from the elements without trapping damaging salts in an an airtight capsule.
- It appears that olive oil combined with a Teflon-like liquid makes the right "superhydrophobic" elixir to keep water off while letting air through.
From the article:
Take a walk in the Yorkshire countryside and you’ll see how limestone field walls have been eaten away as if someone had scooped the stones out with a spoon. ...
