MOSCOW (Sputnik) — A team of British scientists has constructed aircraft wings that are able to fix their own defects in case any damages occur, The Independent reported Sunday.
The aim of the scientists and engineers was to find out whether the tiniest cracks of an aircraft’s wings and fuselage can be avoided.
"We took inspiration from the human body. We’ve not evolved to withstand any damage – if we were like that we’d have a skin as thick as a rhinoceros – but if we do get damaged, we bleed, and it scabs and heals. We just put that same sort of function into a synthetic material: let’s have something that can heal itself," the head of the research team Professor Duncan Wass told The Independent.
The team’s approach presupposes using "microspheres" to the carbon fiber composite material that would release a liquid "healing" substance in case of a damage triggered by a stroke.
Wass said that though the technology seems to be "verging on science fiction," it is likely to come into our daily life in short term.
"We’re definitely getting to the stage where in the next five or 10 years we’re going to see things like mobile phone screens that can heal themselves if they crack."
The technology development has been conducted for three years by researchers of the University of Bristol. It is due to be presented next week at a meeting of the Royal Society, the United Kingdom's leading scientific organization that supports the work of outstanding scientists.
Cosmetic companies have also expressed interest in the development of British scientists to create a special nail varnish, in particular French L’Oréal.
