Two scientists have discovered a way to make metal surfaces last longer by using powerful laser beams to make them water-repellent.

The lasers change the nature of a metal surface in order to keep the surfaces free of moisture and thus able to perform a wider range of practical purposes, according to Chunlei Guo, a professor of optics and physics and one of two scientists at the University of Rochester in New York state who made the discovery, according to a USA Today report. Guo, along with Anatoliy Vorobyev, conducted the research, which was published in the Journal of Applied Physics.

The process would change the surface of metals by blasting them with lasers, treating them so that water doesn’t stick and spread on the surface. The water bounces off the surface, pulling dust off the metal as well. Because of this, water can’t freeze on it.

This could have big applications in the area of anti-icing surfaces, which would help protect aircraft, power transmission lines, the pipes that run through air conditioners and refrigerators, and telecommunications equipment. The treatment is more effective than Teflon in repelling moisture, according to the research.

They tested the treatment using dust from a vacuum cleaner, which was dumped on the surface and then completely cleaned with just a few drops of water.

There are also implications for this technology in the solar industry, as they absorb more light, which could improve conversion of solar to thermal or electrical energy.

The Bill & Melissa Gates Foundation and the United States Air Force Office of Scientific Research has spent a combined 1.37 million on the research.

The Gates foundation wants to use it to improve sanitation in developing nations, which typically have a limited water supply and need to conserve it as much as possible. If the technique were to prove successful, it would reduce the water demands for disposal of human waste, which wouldn’t stick to toilets and latrines. In addition, the metals could improve collection of rainwater, which many developing nations rely on. Funnels typically have to be tilted to keep the water from sticking, but with the laser treatments, could do a lot better job of collecting water.

However, there is a long way to go before laser-treated metals are used in the real world.

The research tested one-inch square of brass, titanium, and platinum, and it took an hour of laser pulses to complete the process. Guo said there has been similar success for aluminum and stainless steel.

The study involved beaming lasers from about 10 feet away on metal surface, which create nano-structures through laser-patterning that are capable of repelling water.