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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."

6 of 117 comments (clear)

  1. Fine... by rmushkatblat · · Score: 5, Interesting

    It would be interesting to know exactly what the other "organic materials" are, and how they made it.

    1. Re:Fine... by snowraver1 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Jello mix

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  2. Nice units, blog writers! by NewbieProgrammerMan · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...a jelly-like substance made up of 95% water along with two grams of clay and a small amount of organic materials.

    It also takes 7 minutes and 8% of your time to set after you mix the ingredients together.

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  3. more by circletimessquare · · Score: 5, Funny

    natural

    breast

    implants

    that is all

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  4. 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.

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

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    Any sufficiently advanced intelligence is indistinguishable from stupidity.
  5. Re:First Post by Jarnin · · Score: 5, Funny

    When asked about potential choking hazard to dolphins, the Japanese scientists were quoted saying, "Fuck you dolphin!"