Do you ever wish your phone was waterproof?

Have you ever dropped your phone down the toilet, down the sink or got it excessively wet in the rain?

Well this could be a thing of the past, as scientists have recently discovered a way of waterproofing electronic components that means they can be immersed in water for days without being damaged.

Normally devices submerged in water would be instantaneously ruined, but using this new technique they claim devices can be left submerged in salt water for months without being harmed. By coating the components with a protective layer just a few atoms thick, it can become impervious to air or water.

Professor Samuel Graham at the Georgia Institute of Technology, who has led the research, said the film was stable in warm damp conditions and a number of liquids.

He said: “By creating such barriers films, we are able to extend lifetime and reliability of electronic devices.”

Electronic devices usually have films that are sprayed onto their components, protecting them from water vapour in the air and making them splash resistant. However, there has not been any way to make these completely waterproof, as tiny imperfections allow water to to get through. To protect devices like mobile phones and cameras from water, a separate case needs to be used.

Professor Graham, developed a techniques known as atomic layer deposition to create better barriers against water. By surrounding components with gaseous atoms from a metal like aluminium, they form a layer over the electronics which is then oxidised.

This oxide layer, which is only 10 nanometres thick – around 6,000 times thinner than the width of a human hair – is prevents water from getting to the sensitive electronics underneath.

It has proved so successful the Professor has submerged electronic sensors in water for 10 days after coating them in the atomic film.

This could mean that ordinary cameras and mobile phones can be used underwater without coming to any harm.

Not only that but it could also be a revelation for the clumsy and accident prone amongst us!