Spanish scientists invent plastic that can heal itself!

[Tani Coyote]

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/this-could-be-big-abc-news/terminator-plastic-polymer-heal-itself-014827978.html?vp=1

Long story short, some researchers in Spain have developed a plastic polymer that can heal itself as if it were alive; it's jokingly called "Terminator" skin after the ability of the T-1000 in T2.

Basically, when the plastic is cut in any manner, you can put the pieces back together and after two hours at room temperature, they will be glued fully back together; there may be a scar, but you cannot pull the polymer apart. It's essentially no different from human flesh after stitches.

Revolutionary stuff, eh? It's not ready for the market just yet, but given time I could see this pretty much rendering stuff like flat tires nonexistent; your tires would simply heal themselves all the time!

[SnipSnap]

Hm.

I can say it's extraordinary.

[Nepenthe]

It's an awesome little invention (although I'm sure tire shops will have something to say about tires that theoretically only need to be bought once), but I feel like there's room there for deep regret, years and years down the line, for naming this stuff Terminator Skin, because you know, grey goo scenarios and all. 8P

[Scar]

I'm pretty sure industry won't allow it to completely take over car tyres, and we don't yet know if the polymer itself has enough traction. I forsee it being used in run-flat tyres though.

[Tani Coyote]

That is a point of consideration, yes. This polymer actually has some very serious political and economic repercussions: it's putting cracks in the scarcity-based economy. The current economic model is based on the idea stuff breaks, so we must manufacture more of it, and must also harvest new resources to enable said manufacturing. Even perfect recycling wouldn't be this revolutionary, as that would simply focus harvesting of raw materials to harvesting of recyclables.

It will be interesting to see where this goes... there's already a huge debate over digital scarcity, and this would be the same as soon as it hits the market. I guess this is a case of the tragedy of the uncommons, here.

[Phos]

Tires made out of this would still wear out, wouldn't be that different from the airless tires they're already working on. Thing about this is how many plastic items with no moving parts are there really? The article mentions pipes, and I'm not entirely convinced this would work with tires.

[Tani Coyote]

Tires made out of this would still wear out, wouldn't be that different from the airless tires they're already working on.

Presumably at a much slower rate, however; any holes would quickly plug themselves.

Thing about this is how many plastic items with no moving parts are there really? The article mentions pipes, and I'm not entirely convinced this would work with tires.

It is still in the developmental stage; the applications will probably be fully realised at a later date. It's why I love science: you can put a mountain in front of it and it will ram right through given some time.

A lot of bags and containers would benefit from being made of this, certainly. Any cups that are reusable, as well.

What I'd really like to see, is plastic that was basically used as glass... that's the kind of stuff that really does break regularly. Plastic generally doesn't break is the problem I'm seeing; it's the reason we've switched primarily to plastic in my household, as they don't tend to shatter if we drop them.

[Chibinuva]

Oh man, if this could be made into a thinner, more flexible, and preferably washable material, we might be one step closer to recreating the symbiote suit from spider-man. Plus, who wouldn't want clothes that could be fixed without having to sew them back up?

[Willsy]

Ladies and gentlemen, Invincibe LEGO.

[Tani Coyote]

Ladies and gentlemen, Invincibe LEGO.

Why do I get the feeling this WILL be trivialised into a kid's toy somehow in the next few decades...

Of course it'd be very expensive; no sane manufacturer would market something that doesn't break!

[SenEDDtor Missile]

Oh man, if this could be made into a thinner, more flexible, and preferably washable material, we might be one step closer to recreating the symbiote suit from spider-man. Plus, who wouldn't want clothes that could be fixed without having to sew them back up?

Tailors?