I’m surprised it took this long to develop a Plastic That Seals Its Own Cracks:
Plants and animals can repair themselves thanks to circulatory systems that carry healing agents to wounded tissue. Researchers at the Univ. of Illinois have created a new plastic that fixes itself the same way. The material is embedded with channels about as wide as a human hair. Each microtube holds a liquefied precursor to plastic that, when released by a crack, bonds with a second liquid in the vessel’s coating to reseal the break. In earlier trials, the researchers used microcapsules. But once these emptied, the material could no longer repair itself at that breach. Fresh plastic in the minivascular system, in contrast, can fill the same crack up to seven times. Nancy Sottos, professor of material science and engineering, says the material could someday help airplanes or space vehicles fix themselves.