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Scientists Create Terminator 2-Like Material That Heals Itself
DVICE ^ | Monday, September 16, 2013 | Robin Burks

Posted on 09/16/2013 7:33:55 PM PDT by DogByte6RER

T-1000 photo: T-1000 from Terminator II Judgement Day T-1000.jpg

Scientists Create Terminator 2-Like Material That Heals Itself ... (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Technological Singularity)

In Terminator 2, the T-1000 android was blown nearly in two, only to mend itself by pulling its mercury-like substance back together. Scientists have long been working on creating a polymer to do the same thing, but previous research always required an external factor (like temperature or pressure) to work. Scientists at the CIDETEC Center for Electrochemical Technologies in Spain succeeded where other scientists have failed: they've invented a plastic polymer that will heal itself all on its own.

These same scientists previously created a similar material made of silicone using silver particles. That material, though, required pressure to heal itself after damage, and because of the silver it contained, was expensive to create. So they decided to try again. They began to work with a more common polymer, a polyurethane. When the polyurethane is cut, its disulphides redistribute themselves back into their original form. This reaction comes completely naturally at room temperature. In just two hours, the material can heal itself to about 97% of its original shape. Also, when stretched by hand, the material retains its strength and will not break.

This marks the first time that a polymer was created that does not need any external influences for self-healing. Obviously, naming the material "Terminator" was a no-brainer for the scientists involved in the research. The inexpensive polymer can be quickly manufactured and will prove invaluable in industrial environments. For example, say a part of a factory machine breaks: instead of needing someone to repair the machine or replace a part, that part just fixes itself. The idea might be a little scary, but it’s also extremely efficient. In fact, some day, the machines won’t need us humans at all.


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Miscellaneous; Science; Society; TV/Movies; Weird Stuff
KEYWORDS: chemistry; polymer; roswell; selfhealing; singularity; spain; terminator; terminator2; weirdscience
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T 1000 photo: T-1000-UhUn T-1000-UhUn.gif It's not nice to play God ...
1 posted on 09/16/2013 7:33:55 PM PDT by DogByte6RER
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To: DogByte6RER

IT’S MADE WITH LIQUID METAL


2 posted on 09/16/2013 7:36:13 PM PDT by struggle
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fender bender photo: Fender Bender Fenderbender.jpg Although ... this polymer could work out great to quickly remedy those occasional fender benders.
3 posted on 09/16/2013 7:37:08 PM PDT by DogByte6RER ("Loose lips sink ships")
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fender bender photo: Fender Bender Fenderbender.jpg Although ... this polymer could work out great to quickly remedy those occasional fender benders.
4 posted on 09/16/2013 7:37:12 PM PDT by DogByte6RER ("Loose lips sink ships")
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To: DogByte6RER
It reminds me of mercury that when split apart always seeks itself into a single mass again. I learned that in chemistry 45 (YIKES) ago. Maybe those Spanish scientists have that mercury idea in mind.

T-2 was SUCH a great movie, as good at T-1.

5 posted on 09/16/2013 7:38:07 PM PDT by cloudmountain
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To: DogByte6RER
Have You Seen This Boy?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UN_VgVEZD0k

6 posted on 09/16/2013 7:40:36 PM PDT by KC_Lion (Build the America you want to live in at your address, and keep looking up.-Sarah Palin)
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To: shibumi

What could possibly go wrong? ping.


7 posted on 09/16/2013 7:45:04 PM PDT by Salamander (Blue Oyster Cult Will Be The Soundtrack For The Revolution.....)
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To: DogByte6RER

Indeed

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0mMniQg8B8


8 posted on 09/16/2013 7:48:32 PM PDT by Salamander (Blue Oyster Cult Will Be The Soundtrack For The Revolution.....)
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To: KC_Lion

I thought the Pacer looked really neat when it first came out.


9 posted on 09/16/2013 7:49:53 PM PDT by DManA
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To: DManA

You’re diseased.


10 posted on 09/16/2013 8:01:41 PM PDT by Cyber Liberty (It's hard to accept the truth when the lies were exactly what you wanted to hear.)
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To: Cyber Liberty

Someone said the best thing about the Pacer was it had a heated rear window. Kept your hands warm when you were pushing it.


11 posted on 09/16/2013 8:04:00 PM PDT by DManA
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To: Cyber Liberty

Someone said the best thing about the Pacer was it had a heated rear window. Kept your hands warm when you were pushing it.


12 posted on 09/16/2013 8:04:07 PM PDT by DManA
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To: DManA

The window was big enough for you to stretch your whole body out on it. I’m sure lives were saved somewhere, somewhere in Donner Pass. I’m not sure I could bear the risk of the embarrassment of being found prostrated on that ‘70’s era remake of “The Fly.”


13 posted on 09/16/2013 8:13:09 PM PDT by Cyber Liberty (It's hard to accept the truth when the lies were exactly what you wanted to hear.)
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To: Cyber Liberty

Come on, admit it, it looked cool. If it hadn’t been a mechanical piece of junk it’d been a classic.


14 posted on 09/16/2013 8:15:11 PM PDT by DManA
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To: DManA

I guess it looked cool, in the sense that a Gremlin looked cool. AMC were the masters of the day. I had a friend with a Marauder. The front fenders looked like they had fins.


15 posted on 09/16/2013 8:24:06 PM PDT by Cyber Liberty (It's hard to accept the truth when the lies were exactly what you wanted to hear.)
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To: Salamander



Can they program her to make me a sandwich?


16 posted on 09/16/2013 8:38:07 PM PDT by shibumi (Cover it with gas and set it on fire.)
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To: DogByte6RER

This is really important for space travel/colonization.

A long trip to somewhere far away will require a really large ship with not many crew.

Most of the ship would need to be able to repair itself if struck by a small rock.


17 posted on 09/16/2013 9:23:26 PM PDT by staytrue
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To: staytrue

crew’will be dead from radiation on any long term voyage to another solar system. even in our own probably.


18 posted on 09/16/2013 11:30:37 PM PDT by Secret Agent Man (Gone Galt; Not averse to Going Bronson.)
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To: Secret Agent Man

“crew’will be dead from radiation on any long term voyage to another solar system. even in our own probably.”

I think you could use a superconductor to generate a magnetic field to envelope the ship and deflect most of the radiation much as the earth’s magnetic field does.


19 posted on 09/17/2013 6:27:31 AM PDT by staytrue
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To: Salamander

When something does go wrong, we’ll all be assured that it was absolutely *unforeseeable!*


20 posted on 10/22/2013 5:46:05 AM PDT by Altariel ("Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!")
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