Six months ago my other half bought a mirror which came with four self adhesive pads to fix it to the wall. Now she has changed her mind but the pads havn't. There is absolutely no way they are coming off the wall.

So lets have voice activated glue. Simply apply to the surfaces to be bonded, slide into place and give the command "STICK". When no longer required, merely march up within hearing distance of the joint an announce "UNSTICK", you might want to whisper that part if you have used the stuff around the house a lot.

Sonication, (the application of high intensity sound) of organic and aqueous solutions has quite a few interesting effects. For instance it can break polymers (long chains of molecules) into smaller segments in a controlled fashion, but also it can promote the formation of free radicals which can be used to synthesize polymers from shorter chains. It should therefore be possible to produce a material which on exposure to ultasound of differing frequencies breaks down long chain polymers (the 'unstuck state') or synthesizes polymers from the short chains (the 'stuck' state), Thus a reversible glue controlled by an ultrasonic "pistol" is entirely possible and would fulfill the idea.

I admit that it is a huge leap to a glue controlled by voice, and that this is a little bit of whimsy, but, to defend this idea, it might be possible in the future to create a material with its state so finely balance between long chains and short chains that it is responsive to the application of low frequency sound with a particular frequency pattern-ie the voice.
-- IvanIdea, Mar 21 2002

the very thing http://www.sellotape.com/homesnf.htm
what I said..... [po, Mar 21 2002, last modified Oct 17 2004]

sonochemistry1 http://www.bath.ac....ospectus/price.html
a link if you just want to check me out [IvanIdea, Mar 22 2002, last modified Oct 17 2004]

sonochemistry2 http://www.scs.uiuc...ick/britannica.html
a link for peter Sealy [IvanIdea, Mar 22 2002, last modified Oct 17 2004]

Ok. Now explain how it works.
-- mcscotland, Mar 21 2002


WIBNI <mfd tag deleted>
-- herilane, Mar 21 2002


Just don't get it mad. Remember the Ectoplasmic whatevermajiggy stuff in Ghostbusters.
-- dag, Mar 21 2002


sellotape (sp?) and other manufacturers do an undo sticky pad but you do not have to speak , just pull a strip under the glue and viola!
-- po, Mar 21 2002


viola? is that a pun?
-- rbl, Mar 21 2002


It's a geographical joke [rbl].
-- phoenix, Mar 22 2002


Ok, see addition to the idea for how it would work, I should have posted an idea for an ultrasonically reversible glue in the first place, but that wouldn't have been so funny. Mr Seally, I have posted a link for you and any other chemists out there. As I have been so comphrehensivel rubbished I would love to know if anyone has revised their opinion following the explanation. Love to all.
-- IvanIdea, Mar 22 2002


[herilane] I have a policy never to delete any annotation however stinging, Could I ask you to review your [mfd] tag decision based on the explanation. I will be more than happy to abide by the result.
-- IvanIdea, Mar 22 2002


Ok its a bit clearer now Ivan - but given all the problems of voice recognition, isn't there the risk that an cough might make half the stuff stuck on the walls fall off?
-- mcscotland, Mar 22 2002


Theres bound to be snags McScotland, but just think of the comedy aspect, at least you'll be laughing while you sweep.
-- IvanIdea, Mar 22 2002


I'd like my glue to recognize strings of curses.
Define "Check me out", IvanIdea - is that you?
-- thumbwax, Mar 22 2002


[IvanIdea] To get the mirror off - feed fine woven wire or linen thread down the back of the mirror and out the bottom (the bottom OF THE MIRROR - tch! Honestly) or the side. Wrap the two ends of the wire or thread around small peices of wood and use a sawing motion to cut through the adhesive pads.
Stick the mirror back on the wall somewhere else using Silicone Rubber sealant.
-- hippo, Mar 22 2002


Although I still think this is pretty much a WIBNI, I admit that the idea now has at least some kind of explanation of how it might possibly work in the future. (Although the step from ultrasound to voice is still very very long.) And since I am feeling nice today, I have removed the [m-f-d] tag.
-- herilane, Mar 22 2002


[Thumbwax] No its not me, but I wish I had that guys brains, I might have stayed in science. While I typed out the slightly overdue explanation it sounded a little implausible even to me, there was a distinct possibility that some people might think that I was fabricating the whole ultrasound /polymer science, so I included it as a quick link to dispel those doubts. But its still fishboned though, never mind.
-- IvanIdea, Mar 22 2002


[hippo] worked like a charm, I love you.
-- IvanIdea, Mar 22 2002


[thumbwax] read 3rd anno.. Don't get it mad.
-- dag, Mar 22 2002


I'm not yelling at the glue - I'm yelling at the !@#$%^& piece of +_)( I'm trying to fix
-- thumbwax, Mar 23 2002


Don't get _that_ mad either, tw.
-- neelandan, Mar 23 2002


"SET glue,... SET!!"
-- ConsulFlaminicus, Feb 15 2005



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