← Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More
Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More
Starlite: The Miracle That Never Was
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In the 1980s, an Englishman named Maurice Ward developed a material that he claimed could withstand temperatures of thousands of degrees Celsius. Not only could the material withstand high temperatures, but it could also protect anything in proximity from high temperatures. This product didn't result in a revolution in material science. In fact, it never produced anything at all. In the end, the secret to its creation died with its inventor. Learn more about Maurice Ward and the creation of Starlight and why it was never developed on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. This episode is sponsored by Fiji Water. You've probably heard of Fiji Water and have seen it in stores. Well, Fiji Water really is from the islands of Fiji. Drop by drop, Fiji Water is filtered through volcanic rock 1,600 miles away from the nearest continent and all its pollution protected and preserved naturally from external elements. 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There have been many people who have made claims about breakthrough technologies but could never back them up. If you remember back to my episode on Perpetual Motion, there have been countless people who have come forward saying that they have discovered the secret to unlimited energy. These people usually have no background in science, engineering or mathematics and are incredibly secretive about their discovery, fearing that some nefarious force is going to steal it from them. These sort of things happen far more than you might think. Almost every notable scientist who's a public figure has received rambling manifestos from people who think that they've discovered a new type of science. Almost always these people make very basic mistakes in science or mathematics, but are unwilling to acknowledge their errors. Think Terence Howard, who thought he developed a new form of mathematics because he confused addition and multiplication. Other times these claims are just outright fraud. Take Stanley Meyer, an American inventor who became famous in the 80s and 90s for claiming that he had developed a water fuel cell that that could split water into hydrogen and oxygen using minimal energy, allowing a car to run entirely on water. He fitted a dune buggy with his device and claimed to have driven across the United states on just 22 gallons of water. His invention was supposedly a revolutionary breakthrough in energy. It was supposed to be clean, simple and cheap. However, scientists pointed out that Meier's claims violated the first and second laws of thermodynamics, which govern the conversion and conservation of Energy. In 1996, he was sued by investors for fraud and an Ohio court found that his technology was not viable and ruled that Meier had committed gross and egregious fraud. You might be familiar with the more recent example of Elizabeth Holmes and her company Theranos, which claimed it could diagnose diseases from a single drop of blood. It couldn't, despite having raised millions of dollars from investors and Elizabeth Holmes is now in jail, all of this brings me to the topic of this episode Maurice Ward. If you didn't know any better, Ward would seem like one of these crazies or fraudsters. Born in 1933, Maurice Ward was a hairdresser from Hartlepool, England. To be fair, Ward wasn't a normal hairdresser. He often experimented and created his own hair care products. Ward took pride in his innovative hair dye formulations, once claiming, what L' Oreal and Garnier are doing today, I was doing 50 years ago and they still haven't gotten it right. Ward didn't have any sort of scientific understanding of what he thought he was making. He was just someone who developed things through trial and error. Ward's journey towards inventing starlight began with his hobby of experimenting with various materials. During the early 1980s, he purchased an extruding machine and began experimenting with material manufacturing. His initial attempt was to create a material for French automaker Citroen's car bonnets. But the results were disappointing and he discarded the samples. The pivotal moment came in 1985 when Ward learned about the Manchester airport disaster involving British air Tours Flight 28M. In this incident, 55 people died within 40 seconds. Not from the fire itself, but from toxic smoke inhalation. Ward was deeply affected by the tragedy and became determined to create a material that could prevent such deaths. As he explained in interviews, it interests me because it was an air disaster on the ground and because it was the smoke and toxicity that killed people, not the fire. Inspired by this tragedy, Ward retrieved his discarded car experiments and began mixing them with solvents using a kitchen blender. After processing the mixture through his extruder, he he discovered that the resulting sheets could withstand blowtorch flames. The material was later dubbed Starlight by Ward's granddaughter Kimberly. Ward developed starlight into an intumescent material with extraordinary heat resistant properties. An intumescent material is a substance that swells and forms an insulating charred layer when exposed to heat, protecting underlying surfaces from fire or extreme temperatures. When subject to heat, Starlite would char kind of like the exterior of a marshmallow and create an expanding, low density carbon foam that provided exceptional thermal resistance. Wart's confidence in his own invention was demonstrated when he placed some starlight on his own hand and aimed a blowtorch at it. Discovering that he couldn't feel any heat. The material exhibited remarkable properties that defied conventional understandings of thermodynamics. Most materials vaporize beyond 2000 degrees Celsius and pure carbon, which has one of the highest melting points of all the elements, melts at around 3,500 degrees Celsius. Yet starlight was withstanding temperatures that physics dictated it shouldn't. He even claimed that starlight could withstand temperatures of up to 10,000 degrees Celsius based on high energy laser tests. The accuracy of those tests is debatable as the laser may not have been functioning properly. According to Ward, Starlite contained up to 21 ingredients, was up to 90% organic, and included organic polymers, copolymers with both organic and inorganic additives, borates, small qualities of ceramics and Other special barrier ingredients. Starlight gained worldwide attention when it was featured on the BBC's science and technology show World Tomorrow in March of 1990. The demonstration was simple use, yet extraordinarily effective. The presenter, Peter McCann, subjected a raw egg coated in Starlight to a blowtorch flame for several minutes. When the flame was removed, the egg could be picked up with bare hands. And when it was cracked open, it revealed a completely raw, uncooked yolk. This video can easily be found online, and it might seem like a trick, but it wasn't. The torch was producing a flame that was at least 2000 degrees Celsius. And I should add, out of sheer curiosity, I wondered what would happen if a torch were pointed at an egg without any shielding. And because the Internet has videos of pretty much everything, I actually found such a video. And what happened? The egg explodes after about 10 seconds of direct heat. And this is why I'm doing an episode on Starlight. Unlike many of the amateurs before him who made incredible claims about something they developed, Maurice Ward produced something that actually worked. The television appearance was a watershed moment that transformed Ward's life. The demonstration immediately captured the imagination of scientists, military personnel, and aerospace companies worldwide. The material's potential application seemed limitless. From fire protection in buildings and aircraft to heat shields for spacecraft. The scientific establishment's response to Ward's claims were mixed. Combining genuine curiosity with healthy skepticism, several reputable organizations, including NASA and the British Ministry of Defense, reportedly conducted tests on Starlight samples. These tests appeared to confirm many of Ward's claims about the material's extraordinary heat resistance. NASA scientists were particularly interested because such a material could revolutionize spacecraft heat shield design, potentially making space travel safer and more efficient. It would seem that Ward found himself in a fortunate position. He had developed a product that was extremely useful, served a very particular niche, and was potentially very lucrative. Yet there are no Starlight products in the world today, and none were ever made. So what happened? The problem was Maurice Ward himself. He was extremely possessive of this discovery and was paranoid that somebody else would make money from it. Ward's primary fear was reverse engineering. He refused to patent Starlight because doing so would require revealing its composition. He would only allow organizations to test samples under strict conditions, never permitting them to retain samples for extended periods. He had to be in the immediate presence of any sample that was being tested, lest someone take a sample while he wasn't watching. He even required anyone who handled Starlight to thoroughly wash their hands. And in case they had any under their fingernails, which could later be tested. Ward's negotiating demands with companies were often unrealistic and constantly changing. He believed Starlight was worth billions and maintained that he should retain 51% ownership of any joint venture. His asking prices fluctuated wildly, and he proved extremely difficult to work with during negotiations. In addition to 51% ownership, he insisted that the recipe for the material be kept with him and and that no one else ever know the secret. Yet somehow, he expected his business partners to invest millions into something they couldn't ever own, control, or even know what it was made out of. Many of the governmental agencies and industries that initially rushed to acquire the rights ultimately walked away from discussions due to Ward's intransigence. Maurice ward died in 2011, having never successfully commercialized Starlight. The formation for this potentially revolutionary technology appeared to die with him, representing a significant loss to material science and safety technology. Before his death, Ward hinted during radio interviews that his family might possess information regarding the invention. However, According to a 2016 BBC broadcast, Ward had taken his secrets to the grave. The exact chemical composition and manufacturing process for authentic Starlight remains unknown. In 2013, an American company called Thermoshield LLC claimed to have acquired the rights to Starlight from Ward's family. The company stated that it had purchased all of Ward's samples and handwritten notes, but it didn't have the actual recipe. Maurice Ward held onto his secret so tightly in fear of others making money off of it, that in the end he wound up earning nothing from it. Normally this would be the end of the story, but a tale of how secrecy and paranoia can be self defeating. But there's more to it. Maurice Ward never released the actual formula. However, he did say several times that Starlight was made from common ingredients. In fact, there might not have been a single Starlight formula, as he claimed to mix special batches with slightly different properties for testing purposes. I heard about Starlight years ago, but kind of forgot about it like so many people. Then several weeks ago, I stumbled across a YouTube video by the popular channel Nighthawkinlight. Five years ago, he created a series of videos on Starlight where he made his own version of the product and tested it. Following the hints left by Ward, he developed a recipe out of common ingredients. The end product, which was similar to Starlight, but almost certainly not the exact same recipe performed similarly when tested. He was able to hold a piece of it in his hand and shoot a blowtorch at it without his hand getting hot. Unlike Ward, he was more than willing to share his recipe with the world. And what was this recipe that created this heat resistant material. Get ready for it. Two parts flour, one part cornstarch, one part powdered sugar and one part baking soda. If this sounds like a bad recipe for making baked goods, you're not wrong. Using off the shelf ingredients that many people have in their homes, he was able to make a highly heat resistant substance. Again, this was almost certainly not the recipe used by Maurice Ward. Ward's recipe likely contained borax and other chemicals to enhance strength and stability. However, it is probably in the ballpark of what Ward originally created. Research on intumescent materials continues and it's entirely possible that Ward's original recipe will be replicated or perhaps even improved upon. Maurice Ward wanted to make money off of his discovery, which is perfectly reasonable. However, he clung to his creation so tightly that that neither he nor the world has ever been able to benefit from his invention. The Executive producer of Everything Everywhere Daily is Charles Daniel. The associate producers are Austin Otkin and Cameron Kieffer. My big thanks go to everyone who supports the show over on Patreon. Your support helps make this podcast possible, and I also want to remind everyone about the community groups on Facebook and Discord. That's where everything happens that's outside the podcast, and links to those are available in the show Notes. As always, if you leave a review on any major podcast app or in the above community groups, you too can have it read on the show.