This article was taken from the June 2012 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.

Andy Jones didn't panic when he dropped his beloved iPhone in a bowl of water. In fact, he left it there for 30 minutes, confident that it would emerge in full working order. Why? Because his phone had been coated with NeverWet, a silicon-based spray-on solution that renders almost any surface superhydrophobic -- extremely repellent to liquid. Water simply rolls off. The same goes for viscous fluids such as syrup and cooking oil. "It's just like any spray-can you'd buy at the local store," says Jones, president of Ross Nanotechnology in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where the product was developed. "But the stuff inside has magical properties." In addition to keeping things completely dry, the coating also keeps objects clean and free from ice and bacteria.

The spray contains millions of nanoparticles, each 20 nanometres across, that self-assemble into a particular pattern on a surface. "The chemistry is pretty funky, but it's also top secret," says Jones. Such alchemy creates a "nano-topography" with a high contact angle -- the angle at which liquid meets the surface or, put simply, the extent to which the droplet remains spherical rather than flattening out. Jones, 43, has already sold four licences to manufacturers and has more deals under discussion. The spray-on can will be on sale this summer. The time we can finally stop washing our clothes is nigh.