Last month, we informed you of the amazing future that will include self-healing cell phone screens. Today we have a fascinating video of that type of technology actually functioning.
NASA-funded research was developed by Timothy Scott from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Scott and his team created a remarkable material that could self-heal itself in a mere seconds. The intriguing innovation is comprised of two layers of solid polymer with a reactive gel sandwiched between them in an airtight space. When the surface is punctured, the liquid resin leaks out and then a chemical called tributylborane reacts with oxygen causing it to solidify in seconds, thus sealing the hole. A research paper was recently published in the journal ACS Macro Letters.
This breakthrough has enormous implications for space craft such as the ISS, since it could add another layer of defense to it’s current protective shields. The resin and panels are both transparent, so it could also be used on vulnerable windows. Eventually this same material could be used back here on Earth on cars, containers, pipes and phones.
Watch this innovation in action as it heals itself from a gunshot, and just pray that the machines don’t use our own technology against us.
[Engadget]