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Japanese Researchers Make Plastic Out of Water

Posted by timothy on from the what's-kanji-for-boffin? dept.

greenrainbow writes with this excerpt from Inhabit: "The material shown in the picture above is just ice, right? Look again. Elastic water, a new substance invented by researchers at Tokyo University, is a jelly-like substance made up of 95% water along with two grams of clay and a small amount of organic materials. As is, the all-natural substance is perfect for medical procedures, because it's made of water, poses no harm to people, and is perfect for mending tissue. And, if the research team can increase the density of this exciting new substance, it could be used in place of our current oil-based plastics for a host of other things."

3 of 117 comments (clear)

  1. *ANOTHER* Misleading Title..... by IHC+Navistar · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Again, the "Wizards" at SlashDot let ANOTHER crappy and purely misleading title make its way into "News":

    ".....95% water along with two grams of clay and a small amount of organic materials."

    -So, in all ACTUALITY, the researchers did *NOT* make plastic out of water, the made it out of water, clay, and other chemicals, but not just water.

    This use of water is no more remarkable than the use of other absorbant polymers or hydrogels, such as Super Slurper, or for an organic material, Gelatin.

    It's about time somebody started seeing such "discoveries" for what they really are: Re-hashed Crap. I'm waiting to see a SlashDot article where somebody discovers The Wheel.

    --
    Knowing Google's lust for data collection, the Soviet Union is still alive and well inside the psyche of Sergey Brin....
  2. Aerogel anyone? by Hurricane78 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Aerogel* is also only 2% silica and 98% air. Doesn’t mean it’s made out of air.
    This is a material out of clay, that can bind lots of water. Just like aerogel binds lots of air.

    ___
    * Btw, my favorite of all “normal” materials on this planet. :) (The favorite abnormal is definitely a Bose-Einstein condensate!)

    --
    Any sufficiently advanced intelligence is indistinguishable from stupidity.
  3. Safe for human use? by sodafox · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Just because it is 95% water does not mean it is necessarily safe for human use. Aside from a little clay, what is the rest of that 5% of 'organic material'? Formaldehyde is an organic material, and I would not want that put into my body in any great quantity.