Light Pariffin - Air Foams

The best foam "wetsuit" would remain flexible at or below 70 degrees F so it might take some other ingredients besides a short chain pariffin and a surface agent.

Later the wax could be removed, melted, filtered and recycled.

Bret Cahill

Sometimes candle makers will whip the molten paraffin wax in order to make a foam. For example, see

Basically, you let the molten wax (paraffin) cool until it starts to form a skin on top, and then you whip it with an electric mixer.

Is this what you had in mind?

You only need a small volume of air to make the wax white -- assuming air is what is causing the refraction.

I wanted most of the volume of the foam to be air for a low density flexible solid foam. I wanted a temporary "wet suit" that would be very light, have some bouyancy and would insulate well.

Bret Cahill

Paraffin foam would work well for dead bodies. Warm bodies with a foamed paraffin would most likely lead to sintering and densification and loss of insulation capability.

You picked an easily thermally formed material for convenience, and the easy thermal formability is the reason it won't work.

Just hold some candle wax flakes in your hot little hands and watch them sinter together.

The ocean might be 50 - 55 degrees F with skin temp. 70 F.

Another possibly bigger problem would be a semi solid wax that could maintain some flexibility.

This project might be more appropriate for DARPA.

Bret Cahill

I think they'd be more interested in your idea for the submarine that runs along the sea floor on electric rails.

You are confused. The only idea on electrified travel is:

Low density pliable paraffin - air foams which might be cheaper and easier to store than wetsuits.

Such a foam would certainly be "one size fits all."

If you don't know anything about foams please feel free to start another thread on some of _your_ original ideas.

Bret Cahill

"The errors of great men are more fruitful than the truths of little men."

-- Nietzsche