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A new self-healing material will make cracked smartphone screens a thing of the past
STATES CHRONICLE – Cracked smartphone screens are one of the most acute problems among smart device owners, as the screens are quite feeble and easy to break. However, a team of researchers from Japan found a creative solution to this problem. Instead of making the screens from stronger materials, they created a glass which can heal when it gets broken.
The self-healing material was invented by mistake
This healing material was created by accident by a graduate student. Yu Yanagisawa was attempting to create a glue, when the result turned into a solution for cracked smartphone screens. After he was done with the material, he discovered it exhibited a strange behavior.
If he tried to break the material, it could be reverted to its initial unbroken state after applying pressure on the cracks for about 30 seconds. This was possible only at room temperature, but the material could still heal on its own. Also, if he let it sit for several hours untouched, it could regain its initial strength.
The resulting material was a polymer, polyether-thioureas. However, the self-healing accident wasn’t the first attempt of the type. So far, researchers have created concrete, plastic, and rubber which could heal. Not even in terms of cracked smartphone screens was this unique, as Motorola had already got a patent for a device which mended its own cracks under heat.
This is probably the best solution to cracked smartphone screens
However, the polymer is special because it can heal at room temperature, making it more user-friendly. If the technology would be borrowed by phone producers worldwide, it could start a new smartphone era. Before releasing its self-healing screen, Motorola made a survey and revealed that half the Earth’s population had broken a smartphone screen at least once in their lifetime.
Therefore, offering such an easy-to-make solution to cracked smartphone screens would greatly reduce the number of thrown devices and replaced screens. This self-healing polymer is a great alternative to the feeble glass used for these screens. The Japanese researchers have put up a paper on this great material, and was published in the journal Science.
Image Source: Wikimedia Commons
