ICYMI: Submersible sticky situations and elongating elastomer electrodes

Today on In Case You Missed It: Researchers from Purdue University and the Office of Naval Research teamed up to develop a new kind of glue that even works underwater. The synthetic compound is derived from proteins used by muscles to keep themse...

The Name’s Bond(ic)…

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The Bondic is the James Bond of the adhesive world. No matter what, it’ll do the job. Plus, its fancy gadget-y design makes it look like something Mr. Bond would carry himself… I mean a Glue-pen with a UV light? That’s some sci-fi stuff right there!

The Bondic is more than an adhesive applicator with a light on top. In fact, it isn’t ‘glue’ at all. The pen is filled with liquid plastic that only hardens when exposed to UV light. All you need to do is apply the liquid over the areas that need gluing, and expose them to the UV for about 4 seconds to allow the plastic to ‘cure’ and turn solid. This magical little device claims to out-power superglue because it provides a more lasting and controlled bond. The plastic can be layered, and even sanded to give you an immaculate smooth finish. What’s more, it works with any material you can think of, ranging from wood, to metal, fabric, and obviously plastic too. Plus, since the liquid only solidifies when exposed to the UV light, you don’t need to worry about sticking those pesky fingers together!

Buy It Here: $21.99 $49.99

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MesoGlue Room Temperature Metallic Glue: Universal Solder

Welding and soldering form strong bonds that conduct electricity and heat, but they require high temperatures that can be dangerous to both people and equipment. A new company called MesoGlue claims that its eponymous metallic glue has all the advantages of welding and soldering but with the ease of use of polymer adhesives.

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Image from Advanced Materials & Processes, January 2016 (pdf)

MesoGlue is made of metallic nanorods that are spaced just right such that a pair of coatings can lock into each other. It has two types: one made of silver and another made of copper “with other metals.” The latter can fuse objects together with very little pressure, like ordinary glues. The silver MesoGlue on the other hand needs a higher pressure to fuse without gaps, but the resulting bond has a higher electrical and thermal conductivity than the copper alloy MesoGlue.

I know that the concept of nanomaterials is hard to grasp, but that intro video is oversimplified and didn’t show the product itself. It doesn’t help that the company has no other demo videos as of this writing. That said, MesoGlue says it’s willing to demonstrate its wonder glue and join nearly any flat surface, but only at their facility.

[via Northeastern University via Motherboard]

Japanese Scientist Invents Dry Glue that Looks Like Breath Mints

These tiny little crumbs look a lot like peppermints you’d use to freshen your breath after lunch, but you don’t want to eat these ones. What you see here are tiny spheres of a sort of latex liquid that are coated in calcium-carbonate nanoparticles. Inside those little beads is a new type of glue that only comes out when pressure is applied to the dry powder.

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That means you can pour this glue in dry form onto whatever needs to stick together and then squish them to activate the glue.  In testing, the scientist found the bond made is stronger than that of pressure sensitive adhesives like tape or Post-It notes.

I can only assume if you swallowed one it would seal your anus permanently. If you bit down on one, it would certainly give you the worst lockjaw in history.

[via New Scientist]