Scratch-free cars and chip-free nail varnish are only the start of dreams for "Terminator" materials that can regenerate themselves
The dreams begin with cars that repair their own scratches and never need repainting, or clothing that darns itself. But imagine a bridge that never ages, its pillars and supports continually regenerating themselves from within. Or an aircraft whose wings and fuselage are constantly refreshed, so they never succumb to fatigue or corrosion.
For Scott White, an engineer at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, that's not as far-fetched as it sounds. He is a pioneer of self-healing polymers – complex materials with the power to renew themselves.
Back in 2001, White published details of a plastic-like polymer peppered with microcapsules that burst open whenever a crack or tiny hole appears, spewing healing agents into the gap to re-polymerise and repair the material. He went on to commercialise it ...
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