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Scientists Invent Smartphone Screen Material That Can Repair Its Own Scratches (ibtimes.co.uk)
drunkdrone quotes a report from International Business Times: Researchers say they have developed a new material that could pave the way for self-repairing smartphones, robots and other electronic devices. Scientists from the American Chemical Society claim that the material, which can stretch up to 50 times its usual size, is able to heal itself "like nothing has happened" even when cut in two. The material is flexible, transparent and shares similar properties to human skin. When exposed to electrical signals, a current is generated that creates a chemical bonding reaction between molecules. The most obvious applications for electronics devices seems to be self-healing displays, although lead researcher Dr Chao Wang is also exploring the possibility of a self-healing lithium-ion battery. While the technology is similar to the hydrogen-infused rear cover found on the LG G Flex, which allows for small scratches to be healed, the material developed by the American Medical Society is a completely new innovation that can "automatically stitch itself back together" within one day of being sliced into pieces. The team will present its research at a Tuesday meeting of the American Chemical Society, according to Business Insider.
The big issue for adoption is... what other things will it bond to in the user's pocket?
According to TFA, this is a very flexible material. I have seen cell phone cases made of flexible silicone - they attract lint and dust as if the phone had been covered with double-sided tape.
"We mustn't be caught by surprise by our own advancing technology" -- Aldous Huxley
If they can cut the material into pieces and then have it "stitch" itself together, then can it be expected to fix cracks?
I rarely see problem scratches on phone displays, but I often see cracked glass that people are trying to keep going until they can get a new phone - what happens in this situation?
The other question I would have is does this material work with capacitive displays?
myke
The question that I have is just how hard this new material is? The reason why gorilla glass does so well against scratches is because of it's hardness index. A material that can heal itself with a charge would, by definition, be relatively soft and thus scratched more often.
Also, they don't go into what happens to dirt and oils that might be on the material and in the cracks/scratches. Does it force it out (i.e. repair from below), or does it heal over top of it? This is important because if it heals over top of dirt, etc. then the scratch may go away but eventually the screen will become permanently dirty. This is fine for case materials but I don't see it working well for screens.