In the struggle to protect our expensive smartphones, we come across a huge market that provides screen protectors and cases. Although sliding them into our pocket without protection would feel good, but the fear of scratches on the screen leads many of us to at least buy a screen protector. However, smartphone cases may not even exist in the new era about to arrive. According to the Chemists at the University of California, Riverside, they have been working on a new technology for smartphones. According to the sources, they have created a self-healing material i.e. screen protector that will work as any smartphone display.
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Mechanism of self-healing material
The material used in the technology contains molecules that attract each other. This molecular layer stitches itself back together in case of any scratch. Chao Wang is the leading chemist at the UC Riverside team of chemists involved in the development of this new material. It was created using a distinct bond called an ‘ion-dipole interaction’ with a mixture of stretchable polymer and ionic salt.
Ion-dipole interaction causes strong magnetism between the molecules that lets it stitch back again. Therefore, it can repair itself from any damage even a total break. Hammer it in bits and the material will recover in less than a day. You may also stretch it up to 50 times its original size, it will set back again. Another key aspect of the bond is that it conducts electricity that makes it function as a part of touch screen.
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A new era of smartphones
Wang expects smartphone manufacturers to acquire his stretchable polymer technology by 2020. It can be utilized for the show, additionally the phone lodging, which means we could and should buy cell phones that can self-mend any breakage on their external shell.
Chao Wang has been quoted by PCMAG:
“Self-healing material may seem far away for real application. However, I believe they will come out very soon with cellphones”
All we can do now is hope that tech giants like Samsung and Apple do not acquire the copyrights for the material to save the self-healing tech just for them.
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