Objects Autoreparan

Objects autoreparan

The last decade has led research in materials with self-reparantes to the front pages of newspapers. Scientists seek to combine attributes of repair and sensitivity in a single material that is able to see for himself the damage received, and subsequently repaired achieved without human intervention.

Now, scientists at the University of Southern Mississippi (USM), in the United States, have reported on the development of a plastic polymer that responds to pressure from the fold (or impact) discoloring the affected area of ​​red, and then – in contact with the light – is autorepara.

In the words of Marek Urban, a scientist at USM: “There are millions and millions of applications, ranging from transportation to medicine, to the space industry, cosmetics and medical. All you want.”
Imagine that the chassis of your vehicle is hit against one of the insidious columns of your garage. It’s okay, you take your car to the sun, and before coming to your place of work, the coup has gone.
Prof. Urban says: “Mother Nature has endowed us with all sorts of biological systems that have the ability to repair themselves,” among which include the skin, DNA and the bark of trees.

“Our new plastics are trying to imitate nature, emitting a red signal when it is damaged and repaired later when exposed to visible light, or changes in temperature or pH.”
These color changes can be very useful signals that allow engineers or alert consumers about any damage to the product.

Christoph Weder For a polymer scientist at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland: “Achieving this ability to make the damaged areas, is something that was on my desk for a long time. It shows the place where there was the defect, so that the system can repair. “

Earlier this year in Europe, Nissan made public some iPhone prototypes made deck autoreparable technology. But there is still a long way for the use of this technology will be widespread.

It is relatively easy, for example, soft materials that do autoreparen, Urban says, because the gel-like substance flow easily. On the other hand is much more complicated to create a durable, rigid material that can withstand the heat and pressure, which likewise would be much more useful on the bolts, or the outer cover aircraft and spacecraft.

Urban ends by saying, “Someday, scientists might be able to make objects with materials autoreparan and even grow, essentially as do the trees.”