Self Healing Paint, but what about the lobsters!
or, How are Plastics and Lobsters connected?
I enjoyed this one...
Researchers from the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, which has a leading polymers program, have developed a polyurethane paint coating that is self healing to small scratches.
They use a substance known as chitosan, which is found in the shells of crabs, shrimp and lobster!
When a scratch is exposed to sunlight, the substance starts to form molecular chains which breech the gap and fix the small scratch.
On the bad side, it only works once in a given area, not good for the repeat offender.
On the worrying side, could this make lobsters an endangered species?
Could it work on a larger scale with pavement? hmmm, potholes!
Anyway, nice work Marek Urban of Southern Miss
Coating makes scratches on cars disappear :: Reuters
and thanks to inventorspot.com for letting me know.