txchnologist:

Tires Made From New Rubber Could Heal Themselves After Puncture

A couple of weeks ago, we learned of work on a new plastic that can repair itself when cut. Now researchers at Germany’s Leibniz Institute for Polymer Research say they have made the same breakthrough with rubber.

Their work turning regular commercial rubber into a self-healing material could one day be a savior for motorists who get a nail in their tire. The team’s achievement was founded on finding an alternative to vulcanization, the process that adds sulfur and other materials to soft rubber to make it more durable and elastic.

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