Starlite

Starlite is a material claimed to be able to withstand and insulate from extremes of heat.

Starlite was invented by amateur chemist (and former hairdresser) Maurice Ward during the 1970s and 1980s, and received a large amount of publicity in 1993.

The name Starlite was invented by Ward's granddaughter.

Properties
Under tests Starlite withstands attack by a laser beam producing a temperature of 10,000 degrees Celsius. Live demonstrations on Tomorrow's World and BBC Radio 4 showed that Starlite could keep an egg cold even under 30 minutes of blowtorch attack, and would also prevent a blowtorch from damaging a human hand.

Commercialization
Ward has allowed various organisations such as the Atomic Weapons Establishment and ICI to conduct tests on samples, but he has not allowed them to retain samples for fear of reverse-engineering. Additionally he reportedly demands 51% of profits from commercialization, which may have hindered Starlite's takeup.

Though Ward has claimed discussions with various organisations such as NASA, as at April 2007 there appears to have been no commercialization of Starlite.

Composition
Starlite's composition is a closely-guarded secret, but it is said to contain 'a variety of (organic) polymers and co-polymers with both organic and inorganic additives, including borates and small quantities of ceramics and other special barrier ingredients - up to 21 in all. Perhaps uniquely for a thermal and blast-proof material, it is not wholly inorganic but up to 90 per cent organic.'