Japanese scientists unveil ‘elastic water’

Japanese scientists have invented “elastic water”, a new material that consists of 95 percent normal water with added 2 grams of clay and a small amount of organic components, according to this article by Malaysian National News Agency.

A detailed report about the work of the scientists — published in the latest issue of Nature magazine — suggests that the substance is safe for humans and friendly to the environment and as such, could therefore be used in medicine in the future.

The new material is elastic, transparent and looks like jelly. Furthermore, the report says it can be quickly produced and molded into shape-persistent, free-standing ohbjects because of its exceptionally great mechanical strength and can quickly and completely self-heal itself if it becomes damaged. It also preserves biologically active proteins for catalysis.

If they succeed in icreasing its density, the material could be used for the production of ecologically clean plastic materials without depending on petroleum which is today used in production of conventional plastics.