It’s a sad story: your microchip is getting old, and maybe a little dusty. Cracks start to emerge on its surface, and pretty soon the little bugger is dead. Sure, we’ve all been there and wished we could have done more for lil’ chippy, if we only knew how? HOW!?
Well, a group of scientists from the University of Illinois have created a self-healing microchip, so cracks get filled automatically. The BBC reports cracks get filled with “the release of liquid metal which restores conductivity.”
This kind of repair sounds a little over the top, not to mention expensive, if you’re thinking about using it for an electric razor, maybe. Luckily the researchers are thinking beyond their chins. Way beyond. The technology could spell big advances for experiments in space. Think about all the times we’ve sent up shuttles or unmanned rockets with robots to repair some minuscule piece of equipment that failed.
Now if they could only get to work on the self-caulking window.