Post by KNOWTHIS on Feb 22, 2008 19:05:31 GMT -5
Could have huge implications on the future of tires among many other products. Too bad that the human body doesn't work this way.
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7254939.stm
Self-healing rubber bounces back
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7254939.stm
Self-healing rubber bounces back
The as-yet-unnamed material - a form of artificial rubber - is made from vegetable oil and a component of urine.
The substance, described in the journal Nature, produces surfaces when cut that retain a strong chemical attraction to each other.
Pieces of the material join together again as if never parted without the need for glue or a special treatment.
This remarkable property comes from careful engineering of the molecules in the material.
The substance, described in the journal Nature, produces surfaces when cut that retain a strong chemical attraction to each other.
Pieces of the material join together again as if never parted without the need for glue or a special treatment.
This remarkable property comes from careful engineering of the molecules in the material.