From: netster 20/02/2001 15:16:34 Subject: Self-healing Plastic post id: 234551 Self-Healing Plastic Researchers at the University of Illinois say they've developed a "self-healing" form of plastic designed to extend the life of everyday items without drilling, plugging, patching or sanding. The Washington Post reports that the scientists - using high-tech materials and a low-tech concept inspired by the human body - devised a process that can continuously repair and regenerate the chemical soup that makes up most plastics by activating special resin-filled capsules stored within the material itself. Lead researcher Scott White said the healing process in many materials would be almost constant. Scratches on a Corvette fender would be like abrasions on someone's knee. Vibrations from an aircraft engine would create the aeronautical equivalent of deep muscle soreness. From ArcaMax Weird News at http://www.arcamax.com/ From: tritium ® 20/02/2001 15:34:20 Subject: re: Self-healing Plastic post id: 234560 I read an article about self healing palstic. It basically contained capsules of monomers that broke up when the plastic cracked and filled the cracks to "heal" the plastic. it wouldn't be able to heal itself forever though and it only restored 70% of original strength i think we are a long way from being able to design surfaces that are able to "heal" from scratches etc... From: J.F. ® 21/02/2001 21:29:34 Subject: re: Self-healing Plastic post id: 235459 Healing is amazing + disappointing at the same time. I am amazed that gouged out skin fills in to about the right depth. I get a bit of hypertrophy (keloids) after surgery on my back + shoulders, and, except on my face, my scars need subcutaneous reinforcing stitches, but really the process is amazing. How does the accelerated growth know to stop when the shape is roughly back to normal? Scars are fibrous, holding you together without accurately replacing all the cell types. This could be improved. I read about (in New Scientist, I think) work on SLOWING healing to get better microscopic tissue architecture! Could these selfhealing plastics **fill in** defects as well as our present human skin- healing system does? If so, do they have a "circulatory system" to deliver extra monomer? Or do they just "colour in" the defect so it shows less? From: Alan™ ® 21/02/2001 21:51:26 Subject: re: Self-healing Plastic post id: 235480 Could these selfhealing plastics **fill in** defects as well as our present human skin- healing system does? If so, do they have a "circulatory system" to deliver extra monomer? Or do they just "colour in" the defect so it shows less? From the articles I have read so far JF. I believer that the monomer is just going to fill in the defects. Basically they are talking about products like fibreglass (or other similar products). These materials have fibres, which are locked in position by a matrix material (resin - either epoxy or polyester usually). All the monomer is the unhardened resin in a 2 part mixture). When the monomer container is ruptured, the two parts mix and flow into the area where the matrix/resin have failed. It will not be repairing the fibre. It isn't a colouring in process, this is actually repairing the damaged matrix. From: J.F. ® 22/02/2001 20:06:34 Subject: re: Self-healing Plastic post id: 236485 I understand that mere CRACKS would heal. I was wondering how **big** a hole coul