Self-Healing Nano Materials
The research: Have a cracked dish? No problem. Just give it an electric shock and it’s as good as new. Last September, Renssaelear Polytechnic Institute researchers invented self-healing materials and the potential for kitchenware is endless . The appealing materials are made out of carbon nanotubes, which are over one-hundred times thinner than a strand of spider’s silk and can conduct electricity. When heated, the tiny tubes melt and flow into cracks with a 70 percent recovery in strength.
Advantages: Not only can these materials heal that cracked dish, but they can help engineers find small cracks or weak areas as well. By sending a small amount of electricity through the tubes, someone can test how a material is holding together. This is especially vital for finding potentially dangerous cracks in things like airplane wings. Although the healed wing does not revert back to full strength, it can remain intact long enough to be repaired before an accident.
Next Steps: So far, the researchers have only developed the materials, but have yet to realize the potential advantages. They now must work towards creating larger objects out of carbon nanotubes to test as well as an accessible computer program people can use to find the potential cracks.
