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Japanese Researchers Make Plastic Out of Water

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."

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  1. 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.