TECH

Discovered by accident, glass is able to repair itself in 30 seconds...Not always a cell phone comes out unscathed from a fall. The screen, one of the most fragile parts of electronic equipment, is the one most at risk of being damaged.But a team of Japanese researchers seems to have found the solution to the broken screen problem.Led by Professor Takuzo Aida of the Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology at the University of Tokyo, researchers have created a new type of glass that has the ability to repair itself.The invention has the potential to be used not only in cellular screens but also in other fragile devices. The glass is made from a lightweight polymer that recomposes its own cracks.The difference from this in comparison with other previously created materials which are repaired alone is that the polymer need not be subjected to temperatures of about 120 ° C to rearrange the molecular structure itself.It is easily repaired by pressing it manually for 30 seconds at a temperature of 21 ° C.

Accidental Discovery
The incredible properties of this material were discovered by a graduate student. Yu Yanagisawa worked on creating a glue and inadvertently cut the surface of the polymer.
He barely had time to mourn the accident because he quickly realized that the edges of the surface that had been broken had "regenerated."
Yanagisawa repeated the process and found that the glass not only repaired itself but also regained its original firmness in two hours.
The study was published in the journal Science.
"I hope glass repairing itself is a new environmentally friendly material that does not have to be discarded when it breaks," Yanagisawa told Japanese broadcaster NHK.


bbc.com