Coffee ring stains are the result of the unique way coffee evaporates. During this process, changes in the surface tension of the liquid set up a flow of fluid that pushes particles of coffee towards the edges of the puddle. These particles then form a ring-like stain when the liquid evaporates completely.
However, other fluids leave different patterns. A couple of years ago, a group of unusually dedicated engineers at Princeton University in New Jersey began “experimenting” with Glenlivet Whisky, a single malt Scotch distilled legally in Scotland since 1824 (and before that, illegally in the secluded Livet Valley). The team found that unlike coffee, Glenlivet leaves an almost entirely uniform stain when it evaporates.
Now Jinsun Kim and colleagues at the University of South Carolina have built on this discovery to create electronic components in which one layer is deposited entirely by the evaporation of Glenlivet whisky. They say their approach has the potential to make electronics manufacture more environmentally friendly and sustainable.
