Scientists from the University of Colorado have created a unique invention that can help the buildings of the future to self-repair after any mechanical or natural damage. In addition, "living concrete", teeming with photosynthetic bacteria, can behave much like a living organism, according to the news portal sciencealert.com. Will the new development be able to appear in mass marketing? Let's try to speculate about this in this article.
Material capable of self-healing in case of damage
The creation of a material capable of self-healing in the event of any damage has long been a dream for builders and architects who want to simplify and reduce the cost of building construction at the same time. The mixture obtained as a result of experiments by scientists from the United States can radically change the process of erecting complex structures due to the presence of sand, gelatin and cyanobacteria capable of photosynthesis in its composition.
During a validation experiment with the resulting structure, scientists cut the unique substance into pieces, suggesting its further growth and regeneration. When the experiment was successful, the researchers concluded that the self-assembly mechanism of the same damaged material worked on average three times, after which the cyanobacteria necessary for the restoration of the substance died, while simultaneously changing the color of the material. For example, the initially green shade of concrete gradually turned into an ordinary gray, but under the right conditions, it gradually returned to its original characteristics.
The unique properties of "living concrete" were first mentioned in 2019, when The New York Times announced a new building technology based on a specially developed hydrogel. The unique development provides a comfortable environment for microorganisms to live inside the substance, which, in turn, produce calcium carbonate necessary for the strength of the future material.
The unique properties of the new type of concrete allow it to self-repair without human intervention.
Researchers who have experimented with creating the concrete of the future are confident that their development could help develop the technologies needed to build buildings on the Moon and Mars during the beginning of their colonization by humans. The relatively low cost of the technology and the significantly lower weight of the useful substance can dramatically reduce the amount of materials needed for the construction of future human colonies on other planets of the solar system and their satellites.
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