Monday, April 15, 2019

Searching for Starlite



Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.

I stumbled upon - thanks to YouTube's recommendation algorithms - the video below...




...which references a material named starlite and claims to have reproduced something akin to starlite.

But I didn't know what starlite was...and didn't know why the egg test was a big deal.

So I went looking, and it turns out lots of people are looking for starlite.

And they've been looking for a few years...(from wikipedia)
Starlite is a material claimed to be able to withstand and insulate from extreme heat. It was invented by British amateur chemist and hairdresser Maurice Ward during the 1970s and 1980s, and received significant publicity after coverage of the material aired in 1990 on the BBC science and technology show Tomorrow's World. The name Starlite was coined by Ward's granddaughter Kimberly. 
Despite interest from NASA and other major technological companies, Ward, who died in 2011, never revealed the composition of Starlite, which is still unknown. He once mentioned that his close family knows the fabrication process, but after his death neither his wife nor any of his four daughters have produced any sample to demonstrate that they know the process.
From historic mysteries
According to the New Scientist, Ward negotiated with several leading organizations. Boeing, NASA, and the British Department of Defence all held talks with Ward. It seemed Ward was more concerned that he might not be able to protect himself in a litigation battle. He did maintain the utmost faith in Starlite. However, trying to broker the right deal for himself gave him the unwanted reputation as an unreliable negotiator. Supposedly, he asked for a £1 million one day but upped that price tenfold the following day.

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